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THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR 

THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND. 
Crown 8vo, cloth, with diagrams, ‘Js. 6 d. 

THE SPRINGS OF CHARACTER. 
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NERVES IN DISORDER. 

A Plea for Rational Treatment. 
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NERVES IN ORDER; 

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London: HODDER & STOUGHTON 



THE 


KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

ITS MEANING AND ITS POWER 


t j} . BY 

A. T. SCHOFIELD, M.D. 


M AvZavo/uevoi ry ett lyvafaet rov Oeov 99 

Col. i. io (Revised Greek Text) 


NEW YORK 

FUNK AND WAGNALLS COMPANY 
44-60 EAST 23RD STREET 
1908 





9 >^ 






UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, PRINTERS, WOKING AND LONDON. 


TO THE 


ANGEL 


OF MY LIFE 

























































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PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION 



MONG the many kindly criticisms 


of the first edition, one that de- 
serves special notice is with regard to 
there being no notice of the Sacrament 
of the Lord’s Supper in the book, or 
it being named as a means of knowing 
God. I cannot see my way to insert 
what I would wish in the text ; but 
should like to say here how much I 
am indebted for the suggestion ; for 
in St. Luke xxiv. 31, 35, the very 
word 7 lvu<TK(jj is used, and there can 
be no doubt that in the feast of 
remembrance the soul meets God in 
a very special way, and the true 
“ knowledge of God ” is learned. 


A. T. SCHOFIELD. 


Harley Street, W. 
















% 






























































PREFACE 

T HIS short treatise is an attempt 
to show that the personal know- 
ledge of God is the true secret of 
happiness; and that a real trust in and 
acquaintance with the Heavenly Father, 
transforms both spirit and life for him 
who possesses it. The book, therefore, 
is necessarily concerned with Christian 
life rather than with Christian work ; 
with the character rather than with 
the career. 

The personal knowledge of God of 
which it speaks is, however, but a means 
to an end ; and so far from leading to 
selfishness must, in proportion as it is 
enjoyed, fill the soul with that Divine 

xi 


PREFACE 


xii 

love and compassion that ever seeks 
the good of others and the glory of 
God. 

It is obvious how unworthy the 
language must be of such a theme ; 
but it is hoped that the reader, who 
may begin as a critic of defects which 
are human, will end as a worshipper 
of a perfection which is Divine. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY . . . I 

Christians and Christianity — Cure for faith in 
China — Whole-hearted and half-hearted — Luke- 
warm faith — Cause of half-hearted practice — God 
is not personally known. 


CHAPTER I 

AGNOSTICISM .... 9 

Meaning of words — Verbal inspiration — Two 
words for “knowing” — Intellectual knowledge 
or sight — Personal knowledge — Mental and 
physical sight — Thoughts and feelings — Value 
of feelings — “ Sight” in Epistles and Gospels — 

Three eyes to see God — Three abstract senses — 
Agnostics — Atheists — Nature and Scripture— 

Both reveal God — Nature does not reveal much 
— The Unknown God — God fully revealed in 
Scripture — Many Bible students don’t know God 
— Agnostics and idolaters — Idolatry easy — No 
true God apart from Scripture — Careless neglect 
of to-day — Goetze’s Academy picture— All shall 
yet know God. 


xiii 


CONTENTS 


xiv 


CHAPTER II 

PAGE 

CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS . . .29 

Four classes of men — 1. God unknown — 
agnostics and atheists — 2. God known through 
Nature — 3. God known in the Scripture — 

4. God known personally — Many Christians 
do not know God — Personal knowledge not 
a question of intellect — Danger of mere in- 
tellectual knowledge of God — It leads to 
idolatry — Christian “idols” — True knowledge 
leads to humility — How we treat artificial 
gods — How God is dishonoured — Contrast be- 
tween God and idols — Current Christian ex- 
pressions — Uttered without shame — Never heard 
where God is known — All Agnostics apart from 
revelation — All our thoughts of God are wrong — 

The living Christian longs for the living God — 

We have all manufactured false gods — A short 
catechism — Our language the measure of our 
knowledge — Language partly dependent on our 
state — Illustration of child and father — Artificial 
“spiritual” communion — The concept of the 
true God is rare — What is eternal life? 


CHAPTER III 

HOW TO KNOW GOD . . *51 

Two words for “knowing” — How to know 
God — The illumination of heart and soul — Feel- 
ings and thoughts — Light from Sophocles — Iole 
and Hercules — We enter God’s presence — We 
are “content” when we know God — “Now 
mine eye seeth Thee ” — Our words and acts 
change— Effect of God’s presence — Four aspects 
of God — Anglo-Indian children— Faith, medita- 


CONTENTS 


xv 


PAOE 

tion, and prayer — Eating the words. Assimila- 
tion — Waiting on God — Character of prayer 
changed — “Apprehend” and “comprehend” — 

The living God — Personal knowledge implies 
life — What love is — The true God — True means 
real — God is the great reality — Our knowledge 
shown by our words — The God who is love — 

Rest and peace — The love of God cannot be told 
— The language of experience — The delight of 
the home circle-rThe Agnostic period — Intel- 
lectual knowledge of God — Backsliding — Per- 
sonal acquaintance with God — The tenderness of 
God’s love — God’s two detectives — The Psalms 
speak to the heart — Personal testimony — The 
deepest knowledge of all — Christ’s knowledge 
of God — Few possess this deepest knowledge 
— God changes the character — The language 
changes — We shall fully know God — The most 
wonderful prayer of St. Paul — To know God 
is heaven begun — Strong language of St. Peter 
— The fullest knowledge of God may bi enjoyed 
now — Personal knowledge leads to greater 
intelligence. 


CHAPTER IV 

THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD . . 85 

Three powers of evil — the world, the flesh, 
and the devil — The story of Israel — Canaan is 
not heaven — The wilderness and Canaan — The 
tired pilgrim — The child at home — In Christ 
Jesus — Seated in heavenly places — Rest, safety, 
and enjoyment — A pleasant Christian — No mur- 
murs in heavenly places — The twofold life of God’s 
child — We have absolute defence against evil 
— Surrounded by the peace of God — Christ was 
misunderstood — Peace depends on position — 

Shirt erf chain-mail — Growth from knowledge of 


XVI 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


God — Change of character — Change of language 
— Harmony in all the being — Effect on physical 
health — Liberty results from the knowledge of God 
— Amateur law-makers— A fence and a bridle for 
horses and mules— Christians who keep time — 
What is the right time ? — God’s chronometer — 
Christians and Waterbury watches — Self-winding 
watch — The Christian’s home-life — Living in 
lodgings and at home — Picture of a man who lives 
with God — Socrates in the “ Phaedrus ” of Plato — 
Thoughts on God — The soul and its wings — The 
oyster and its shell — Character changed in seven 
ways — I. The mind is changed — The mind casts 
a shadow — Our minds are like ferments — Starch 
changed into sugar — To know God is to be a 
blessing — Virtue goes out unconsciously — 2. The 
desires are changed — Not “what,” but “why” 
— “ Giving up ” is no use — 3. The manners are 
changed — The manners of a friend of God — 
Sweetreasonableness — 4. The pursuits are changed 
— 5. The heart is content — The sight of God 
changes all — 6. The man is conquered — No battle 
is possible — No fight where God is known — 
7. The thoughts are changed — God the new centre 
of thought. 


CHAPTER V 

THE WALK OF GOD’S CHILD . 

The dim light of Enoch’s world — The thoughts 
of Enoch — The man who walked with God — 
History of Enoch — Enoch pleased God — Testi- 
mony to Christ — Private life at Nazareth — Why 
God spoke at Christ’s baptism — Public and 
private life — Tablet at Victoria University — 
Christians can please God — Inward conscious- 
ness of God’s favour — Conditions of Enoch’s life 
— What walking with God means — It is easy for 
us to walk with God — Story of Nicholas Her- 


123 


CONTENTS 


xvii 


PAGE 

man — His thoughts of God — How to go to God 
— How to converse with God— How to live with 
God — The oratory in the heart — God in business 
and daily life— The kitchen the gate of heaven — 

How to walk before God — How to be always 
happy. 


CHAPTER VI 

THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING . * 1 39 

The school of suffering — An almost impossible 
injunction — Current ideas of conduct in suffering 
— Same joy in heaven as in suffering — Our 
thoughts are not God’s thoughts — Various ways 
of rejoicing — Three qualities of Christians — Lead, 
silver, and gold — Character of true scholars — 

Gold in the furnace — No condolence needed — 
Incandescent light in suffering — Trust is not 
knowledge — Intelligence in God’s ways — The 
destiny of Christians — Kings and priests — Great 
training for high destinies — Sufferings for our 
own good — Story of two nurses — The standpoint 
is everything — The value of true insight — The 
blessed fruits of tribulation — The hardness of 
petty worries — The defence against small ills — 
Bearing the suffering of others — Does suffering 
result from lack of faith — Evils of the doctrine 
when unduly pressed — Christ bore our sick- 
nesses in His life — Two evils that result — The 
health-giving value of true religion — Tribulation 
includes sickness. 

CHAPTER VII 

TO THE AGES OF AGES . . l6l 

The apotheosis of humanity — The most won- 
derful epistle in the Bible — Different horizons — 


XV1U 


CONTENTS 


The materialist’s horizon — A more extended 
view — Christian horizons — Millennial horizon — 
The furthest limit outside Ephesians — The black 
depths in the heavens — The words bend under 
their weight of meaning — Grace and Wisdom are 
Light and Love — Manifold or chromatic wisdom 
— The glory of God’s grace — “ Christus Con- 
summator ” — True evolution — Functions of a 
spiritual body — Christ not recognised — The Head 
of all Creation — Conformed to Christ — The 
riches of God’s grace — We shall make known 
God’s love — Truth like fairy tales — We are to 
represent God — We are to reveal God’s wisdom 
— To all eternity — Glory without end — We are 
living pictures of the grace of God — The trans- 
parent cube the figure of the Church — Our high 
calling — To walk worthy of this great vocation — 
Powers of the world to come — These powers not 
for use now — We flower in the garden — Wait, 
till then — Summary — Result of the knowledge of 
God — The love of God will never cease — The 
knowledge of God shall yet fill all. 


INTRODUCTORY 


INTRODUCTORY 


T HE average Christian life often 
fails to commend Christianity. 
One can hardly say that the bearing 
of religious people as a whole con- 
stitutes a powerful argument for the 
faith. Indeed they are sadly too often 
quoted as stumbling-blocks in the in- 
quirers path ; and many unbelievers 
protest (not wholly unjustly) that their 
mental attitude is the result of a care- 
ful contemplation of the habits and 
lives of professing Christians. 

A leading Chinese nobleman, whose 
young son had embraced the Christian 
faith in China, is said to have sent 


Christians 
and Chris- 
tianity. 


Cure for 
faith in 
China. 


2 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


him to Oxford for a course of 
theology as an antidote ; after a two 
years’ course he returned “ cured ” 
believing in nothing. Others in Japan 
are said to have found the same 
result. These stories are not in- 
credible. 

Indignant apologists may point with 
pride to many noble, Christ-like men, 
whose whole lives are consistent with 
the faith they profess ; and there are, 
especially amongst the humble, hundreds 
whose lives adorn their profession. But 
all this does not alter the fact, that the 
charge in the main is true. The half- 
hearted policy of present-day Christians 
in trusting their God with a half-trust, 
and believing in their Scriptures with 
a half-faith, has led to their being 
half-and-half all round, and whole- 
hearted in nothing. 

You see in the world the gambler 
absorbed in bridge, the sportsman in 


INTRODUCTORY 


3 


shooting, the golfer in the links, the 
racing man in the turf, the society 
woman in fashion, honestly and whole- 
heartedly ; but where is the Christian 
who is absorbed in Christianity ? — to 
whom the fact of God is the greatest 
fact, the truth of the Scriptures the 
greatest truth, the love of the Divine 
the all-absorbing passion ? 

And yet the Christian faith in its 
noble simplicity, in its divine magnifi- 
cence, deserves a far different treat- 
ment and is worthy of a different 
following. 

A whole-hearted belief in God and 
the Bible would not only result in a 
worthy testimony to the Christian faith, 
but would bring untold joy to the 
hearts and lives of believers them- 
selves. 

Lukewarm water, half-hearted faith, 
hedging and trimming, sitting on the 
fence, are one and all descriptions of 


Lukewarm 

faith. 


4 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Cause of 

half-hearted 

practice. 


conditions and policies that bring 
neither credit nor pleasure to their 
followers, nor even possess the safety 
for which they are adopted. 

If the Lord be God, follow Him — 
wholly. 

As for me and my house , we will 
serve the Lord — wholly. 

The whole-hearted Christian says 
of his faith as Ruth of Naomi : God 
do so to me, and more also, if ought but 
death part thee and me (Ruth i. 17). 
Death of course does part the believer 
from his faith ; for then, and not till 
then, is faith changed to sight. 

The cause, doubtless, for this half- 
hearted practice is largely the bondage, 
the narrow ruts and grooves, in which 
so many Christians move. There is 
abundant formalism, and a correct 
attitude, but no warmth, no heat, no 
true liberty of the Spirit of God. It is 
for this that Faber’s lovely hymn (p. 8) 


INTRODUCTORY 


5 


yearns and longs. It is this that is 
the supreme need of Christianity to-day. 
In reading this, an earnest minority 
will of course protest that the words 
are not true of them; and this we 
gladly own. We are speaking in 
broad terms of the Christian world at 
large. There are, as we have said, 
everywhere to be found whole-hearted 
Christians. 

My hope, then, is that I may be 
able to point out the real reason of 
this general condition, which lies deeper 
than any I have yet suggested. God 
is the God of freedom and of love, 
and of breadth and depth, and of all 
wisdom ; and it is because this God is 
not as a rule personally known in His 
true relationship by the bulk of Chris- 
tian people, that lives are what they 
are. I am persuaded that a personal 
knowledge of the living God makes a 
living Christian, and a heart in tune 


God is not 
personally 
known. 


6 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


with the Infinite can strike no discordant 
note in its faith or practice. 

We will therefore consider together 
what this personal knowledge of God 
means, and how it is to be obtained. 


AGNOSTICISM 


Oh for freedom, for freedom in worshipping God, 

For the mountain-top feeling of generous souls, 

For the health, for the air, of the hearts deep and 
broad, 

Where grace not in rills but in cataracts rolls ! 

Nothing honours our Lord like the thirst of desire, 

Nor possesses the heart so completely with 
Him ; 

For it burns the world out with the swift ease of 
fire, 

And fills life with good works till it runs o’er the 
brim. 

For the heart only dwells, truly dwells with its 
treasure, 

And the languor of love captive hearts can un- 
fetter ; 

And they who love God cannot love Him by 
measure, 

For their love is but hunger to love Him still 
better. 

God loves to be longed for, He loves to be sought, 

For He sought us Himself with such longing and 
love ; 

He died for desire of us, marvellous thought ! 

And He yearns for us now to be with Him 
above. 


F. W. Faber. 


CHAPTER I 


AGNOSTICISM 

I N writing of such sacred subjects as 
concern us here, it is essential that 
the meaning of all important words 
should be accurately defined. Even in 
ordinary discussion this is necessary ; 
how much more, therefore, when we 
speak about the things of God! 

Many of us may not have noticed 
that one of the great marvels of Scrip- 
ture is that it can express so much as 
it does of the revelation of God in the 
words of men. It is this fact that 
makes it difficult for me to conceive 


Meaning 
of words. 


Verbal 

inspiration. 


10 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Two words 
for 

“knowing.” 


of any inspiration that is not verbal, 
for it is on the very words used that 
the accurate expression of the Divine 
thought depends. 

I am convinced that no reverent 
mind can study the Greek Testament 
without seeing the truth of this on 
every page. The difficulty of writing the 
thoughts of Heaven, even in a language 
so rich in expressing shades of meaning 
as the Greek, is perhaps best appre- 
ciated by those missionary pioneers 
who are constantly translating the New 
Testament into fresh tongues. These 
translations into the crude dialects of 
savages are beset with almost insuper- 
able difficulties. 

Much of the force of the Greek is 
lost even in our Revised Version, for 
it is well known that the English lan- 
guage is very poor in some respects. 

Take, for instance, in connection with 
our subject, the verb “to know.” For 


AGNOSTICISM 


ii 


this we have, in English, but one word ; 
whereas in other languages there are 
at least two ; the right understanding 
of these two is essential to grasping 
the arguments of this book. 

In Greek, Latin, French, and Ger- 
man, oi$a ( oida ) scio, s avoir, and wissen 
refer to one sort of knowledge, while 
ytyvu)(TK<D (ginosko), cognosco , connaitre , 
and kennen mean another. O &a, which 
is the perfect of the disused ul u> ( eido ), 
really means to see (but opaw [orao] is 
also used), and refers primarily to physical 
sight, and with the present tense would 
be connected directly with videre in the 
Latin and voir in the French ; but in 
the perfect, oiSa , “ I have seen,” i.e., “ I 
know,” meaning “ I understand” it, is 
better connected with scio and savoir, 
referring to an intellectual perception 
by the psychic eye of what is impressed 
on the mental retina. OiSa, which refers 
primarily to things and facts rather 


Intellectual 
knowledge 
or sight. 


12 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Personal 

knowledge. 


Mental and 

physical 

sight. 


than to persons, may range from a 
passing glimpse to the most profound 
intellectual understanding. 

The second four words, headed by 
yiyvuxjKG), are 1 to learn, to know, to 
come to a knowledge,’ which is gradual 
and increasing, and refer to personal 
knowledge, or knowledge of persons 
rather than things. This Greek word 
often implies relationship, heart know- 
ledge, and a certain familiarity. 

Returning to (otSa), the two visions, 
mental and physical (both of them 
differing from personal knowledge), are 
very interesting. We can say, looking 
at a photo of a person whom we do not 
know, “ I see what he is like,” After 
some dealings with him we can again 
say, “ I see what he is like,” referring 
this time to mental and not to bodily 
vision ; and yet in neither case may 
we know him personally at all, and so 
we can say, “ I know (o 18a) him, and 


AGNOSTICISM 


3 


yet I do not know (yiyviovKiu) him at 
all.” i 

Before leaving the subject one other JJdSSui: 
distinction of interest and value may 

1 The difference between oila (oida) and 
ycyyhHTKio (ginosko) is worth considering a little 
further, as follows : — 

Oila is immediate perception. 

rLvioaKU) is gradual knowledge. 

The genius sees at once (oil a). 

The scientific man comes to know (yiviofTKu), 

Oila is to know by reflective thought. 

Tivuokoj, to know by observation, and implies 
an active relation, a self-reference of the knower 
to the object known. 

Matt. xxv. 12, I know ( oila ) you not y i.e. t 
officially as virgins you are in no relation to me. 

Matt. vii. 2 3, / never knew (ytvwoxw) you, i.e., 
personally I have never been in connection with 
you. 

The following is a list of the passages where 
oil a is applied to persons, and in the following pas- 
sages clearly refers to official and not to personal 
knowledge : Matt. xxv. 12, xxvi. 72, 74 ; Mark i. 24, 
xiv. 68, 71 ; Luke iv. 34, 41, xiii. 25, 27, xxii. 34, 

57, 60; John vi. 42, vii. 27, 28, viii. 19; Acts vii. 

18; Gal. iv. 8; 1 Thess. iv. 5 ; 2 Thess. i. 8; Titus 
i. 16; Heb. viii. n, x. 30. 


14 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

be made between the two sorts of 
knowledge of which I have spoken. 
That connected with the intellect (eiSw 
oi$a) leads to thoughts, that understood 
by yiyvnHJKix) leads to feelings. This, of 
course, is obvious if we connect the 
former knowledge with the head and 
the latter with the heart. 

Four passages remain to consider. 

John i. 26, 31, 33, Ye know not — I knew him 
not — I knew him not. A careful consideration of 
this passage leads me to believe that John was not 
referring to his personal knowledge of his cousin, 
but his official knowledge of him as Messiah; 
which was not clear till the Spirit descended. 

John vii. 29, viii. 55, I know hi?n y and refers to 
Christ’s knowledge of his Father, a subject so pro- 
found and beyond our grasp in criticism that we 
cannot analyse it. 

2 Cor. xii. 2, I knew a man in Christ. This is 
difficult, and looks like personal knowledge. 0 10a 
may be used here, however, as it is a vision, a 
perception rather than an ordinary personal know- 
ledge. I think these passages include all where 
€i<W is used with regard to persons ; elsewhere it 
is either to see, or to know facts and things. 

r ivucrKh) and ETnyivitKTKw is experimental know- 


AGNOSTICISM 


15 


Much has been written and spoken 
against “ feelings ” in connection with 
Christian experience ; but this book is 
written to show their value, and to lay- 
stress on the fact that the intellectual 
study of God is indeed barren if it does 
not produce feelings. Feelings may be 
associated with much ignorance. Such 
was the case with Mary Magdalene, 
who thought Christ was the gardener, 
but in spite of this her heart-knowledge 
of the Lord led to His recognition, and 
made her the honoured messenger to 
His own apostles, who had more know- 
ledge, but less feeling. 

We may here note the interesting 
point that in the Gospels, when Christ 
was visible to the natural eye, «$o>, or 
oi$a y is translated “to see” 194 times, 
and “to know” 173 times. And in 


Value of 
feelings. 


“Sight" in 
Epistles and 
Gospels. 


ledge and growing personal experience which 
comes day by day to those who have first seen 
(oiha), and known Him by faith. 


1 6 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


the Epistles, when Christ can only be 
seen by the spiritual eye (we see Jesus , 
Heb. ii. 9), the word is translated “ to 
see ” only twenty times, as against 
“to know” 21 1 times. Of course 
there are other reasons as well for this 
difference. 

The title of this book, “ The Know- 
ledge of God,” might therefore refer to 
any intellectual understanding or appre- 
ciation of His character and ways ( oi$a ) 
or to a personal acquaintance with Him 
( yiyvi*)cnca>) } for in English only one word 
is possible. 

Three eyes I should like to make a remark here 

to see God. 

about mental vision before we pass on. 
We have two eyes by which we see 
man, and three by which we see God. 
These three are the three abstract 
senses — the intellectual, thought or 
reason ; the emotional, or aesthetic 
feeling ; and the moral sense, or con- 
science. As the light of the body is 


AGNOSTICISM 


17 


the eye of the body, so is the light 
of the mind the eye of the mind ; and 
thus the life common to all organic 
creation is in man alone of the nature 
of light (of reason, of emotion, and of 
morality), by which he can see God 
with head, and heart, and conscience. 
It is in this way that the life is the light 
of men (John i. 4). 

These three senses are alike in their 
inscrutable origin. They are all arbi- 
trary in character, hence we have 
axioms and self-evident propositions 
for the intellect ; we have a sense of 
beauty that rules and guides us, and 
not we it ; and conscience, the moral 
sense is often a veritable tyrant, speak- 
ing to us with authority, and often 
torturing us if we do not listen and 
obey. The origin of all this authority 
is unaccountable apart from God, who 
is thus stamped upon our very being. 

Having cleared the way by this 

3 


Three 

abstract 

senses. 


18 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

explanation of the two words used for 
knowledge, we may now turn to the 
title of this chapter, “ Agnosticism.” 

The word Agnostic was coined by 
Professor Huxley, in 1869, to describe 
those who held that there was no know- 
ledge save through phenomena, i.e. 9 
material proofs. 

Those thus styled therefore professed 
not to know at all whether God exists 
or not. They thus differed on the one 
hand from atheists, who, exalting their 
ignorance into knowledge, boldly said 
there is no God, because they did not 
know Him ; on the other hand they 
differed also from the Athenians, who 
came to the opposite conclusion, and 
declared that there was a God, though 
they also did not know Him. 

Now as the existence of God cannot 
ever be proved by material phenomena 
apart from revelation, all men are by 


AGNOSTICISM 


19 


nature agnostics or idolaters ; that is, 
they either recognise that they know 
nothing about God, or they worship 
some projection or invention of their 
own minds which is without value or 
authority. 

But forasmuch then as we are the 
offspring of God \ who would draw us 
all into the nearer and dearer relation 
of sons, He could not and would not 
leave us so — hence a revelation was 
needed and provided. 

So God has revealed Himself, as we 
believe, in two ways — in Nature, and 
in Scripture, and both of these give us 
truth concerning Him. 

We read about those who have studied 
(and despised) the book of Nature only , 
that they hold the truth in unrighteous- 
ness (Rom. i. 18). And as to Nature, 
we are told that That which may be 
known of God is manifest in them ; for 
God hath shewed it unto them . For the 


Nature and 
Scripture. 


Both reveal 
God. 


Nature 
does not 
reveal much. 


20 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

invisible things of Him from the creation 
of the world are clearly seen , being 
understood by the things that are made , 
even His eternal person and Godhead 
(Rom. i. 19, 20). 

Thus, though Nature is undoubtedly 
debased and defaced by man, and has 
far departed from its pristine beauty, 
and though the Scriptures too have 
suffered through the imperfections of 
the human instruments and human 
speech and defective translations, both 
undoubtedly contain and proclaim the 
truth as to God. 

The man who reads either of these 
two books — the Scriptures or the book 
of Nature — can no longer be a true 
Agnostic, but only such in a secondary 
sense. 

Those who read the book of Nature 
only, have at any rate before them 
God’s eternal power and Godhead, 
The figure that is thus visible is very 


AGNOSTICISM 


21 


much like that of a man wrapt up from 
head to foot in a cloak, which, while it 
reveals his outline, conceals his features ; 
and thus Nature has not inaptly been 
called “the garment of the Lord.” 

The Greeks, too, at Athens who 
built that altar to the “ Unknown God ” ° d * 
had studied the book of Nature, and, 
recognising this, St. Paul led them on 
to further knowledge in the light of a 
fuller revelation. 

One can discern, even through a 
cloak, that the figure is strong, broad, 
and majestic, although the finer features 
of character be hidden and the man 
himself quite unknown. Those who only 
discern this much regarding God may 
be called Agnostics in a secondary 
sense, and are actually termed so in 
i Cor. xv. 34 and i Thess. iv. 5 : Some 
have not the knowledge of God (lit. “ are 
Agnostics ”), and Even as the Gentiles 
which know not God (i.e. f Agnostics). 


22 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


God fully 
revealed in 
Scripture. 


But this outward revelation or know- 
ledge (otSa) may be carried much further, 
and yet the Person remain unknown. 

With the fuller revelation of Scripture 
we see God as we cannot see Him in 
Nature, for although the cloak largely 
covers Him still in the Old Testament, 
it is dropped in the New : and we see 
revealed the glory of God in the face 
of Jesus Christ. We discern His holi- 
ness, wisdom, love, pity, compassion, 
justice, and many other attributes ; and 
yet, although we may study the Divine 
thus closely, we may still in the deepest 
sense not know ( yiyvwaKO ) , ginosko ) God. 

For example, our kings person is 
familiar to many thousands of his sub- 
jects, and a very large number know 
the leading traits of his character. The 
sound of his voice may be as familiar to 
our ears as his appearance to our eyes, 
and yet we may not know him at all. 

In the same way there are many 


AGNOSTICISM 


23 


> 


familiar with the book of Nature and Many Bible 

students 

the Bible, who have all the knowledge G°od. tknow 
embraced by the words oi$a ( oida ), 
scio, savoir , and wissen , who are still 
wholly without that intimate simple per- 
sonal knowledge of God implied by 
the words, yryvwo-icw ( ginosko ), cognosco> 
connaitre and kennen; and it is of this 
latter personal knowledge alone that I 
write here. 

One thing I should like to emphasise Agnostics 
before I pass on. I have pointed out ldolaters ‘ 
that naturally a man (apart from revela- 
tion) must be an agnostic or an idolater ; 
the former is, however, by far the better 
position of the two, though the latter 
is the more common. An idolater 
worships the conception of a deity 
simply formed by his own mind, and 
these projections of the imagination 
differ, of course, one from another, and 
the Pantheon becomes as large as it is 
worthless. It is so easy for us uncon- 


24 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Idolatry 

easy. 


No true God 
apart from 
Scripture. 


sciously to shape the Unseen according 
to our own characteristics, and make 
it the embodiment of what we think 
just and right ; and then bow down 
and worship it. 

In Job we read, after a series of 
denunciations, This is the place of him 
who knows not God (Job xviii. 21). 
And if such be his fate, surely he who 
invents a false God deserves a worse. 

What we all need in these matters 
is more humility and reverence, and 
a better realisation of the vast impas- 
sable gulf that separates the finite from 
the Infinite, save as it has been bridged 
by Christ, and illumined by revelation. 

We must clearly see that the only 
right conception of the true God is 
to be reached by study of Nature and 
Scripture, without addition from our 
own imaginations, which at best can only 
picture shadows of ourselves, it may 
be larger or smaller than the original. 


AGNOSTICISM 


25 


The most common attitude to-day in 
Christian countries towards God, how- 
ever, is that of a careless neglect. We 
no longer get the vigorous materialism 
of Huxley that reasons Him out of 
court ; still less the blatant atheism of 
Paine and Voltaire. 

Even the assertions of Herbert Spen- 
cer as to the Unknowable are now felt 
to be rash and out of date, for how can 
any one really know that God is “ un- 
knowable,” which is quite a different 
matter from His being unknown? 

So the current attitude is well de- 
scribed (apart from the degrading vices 
named) in Rom. i. 1 1 , They, when they 
knew God ’ glorified Him not as God. 
This indifference was well depicted in 
Goetze’s Academy picture in 1904, “ He 
was despised and rejected of men" where 
we see the Saviour bound to the altar 
of the Unknown God, with every repre- 
sentative of modern science, fashion, 


Careless 
neglect of 
to-day. 


Goetze’s 

Academy 

picture. 


26 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


and art carelessly passing Him by. 
Such a picture, whatever its merits as 
a painting, is of infinite pathos. How 
far more pathetic must the sight of 
the world (which still knows not Goa ) 
be to the living Father, who has 
revealed to us His thoughts in the 
Scriptures, and even given us to see 
Himself in Jesus Christ! 

It is an immense comfort to know 
that this attitude is not a final one, 
but that the earth shall (yet) be filled 
with the knowledge of the glory of the 
Lord (Hab. ii. 14); and a still greater 
satisfaction to know that there exists 
now everywhere in our midst an in- 
creasing number who not only know 
(oiSa) what is revealed of God in 
Nature and Scripture, but have a 
personal knowledge (yvw<nc) of a liv- 
ing Father. It is of these I would 
speak, and show how such wondrous 
knowledge is to be obtained. 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 


Souls of men ! why will ye scatter 
Like a crowd of frightened sheep? 

Foolish hearts ! why will ye wander 
From a love so true and deep ? 

For the love of God is broader 
Than the measures of men’s mind ; 

And the Heart of the Eternal 
Is most wonderfully kind. 

But we make His love too narrow 
By false limits of our own ; 

And we magnify His strictness 
With a zeal He will not own. 

It is God : His love looks mighty, 

But is mightier than it seems ! 

’Tis our Father : and His fondness 
Goes far out beyond our dreams. 

If our love were but more simple, 

We should take Him at His word ; 

And our lives would be all sunshine 
In the sweetness of our Lord. 

F. W. Faber. 


CHAPTER II 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 

S O far I have spoken in general 
terms of the knowledge of God 
and tried to explain the different mean- 
ings of the word “to know,” and also 
to consider the varieties and causes of 
“ Agnosticism.” 

In this connection we may divide 
men into four classes : — 

The first class includes all who know 
nothing about God whatever. Those 
who confess their ignorance are termed 
“ Agnostics ” ; while those who call their 
ignorance knowledge, and because they 


Four classes 
of men. 


i. Agnostics 
and 

Atheists. 


2 . God 
known 
through 
Nature. 


3. God 
known 
in the 
Scripture. 


30 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

know not God declare that there is 
none, are called “Atheists .” 1 

The second class are those who have 
learned what can be known of God 
from the book of Nature only. They 
thus know there is a God, and that 
He has the power of an overruling 
Providence. Such were the Greeks 
and Romans in their worship of an 
Unknown God. This is, of course, a 
great advance on Agnosticism. 

The third class are those who are 
Christians, and who have not only read 
Nature but the Scriptures ; who have 
known and believed in the God and 
Christ of the Bible, and who have 
become by faith the children of God. 
These are a great advance on the 
Greeks, and have touched, as to God, 

1 The fool hath said in his heart , “ There is no 
Godf but he does not proclaim it ; and it is said 
that only apostates are atheists and publicly deny 
God. 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 


3i 


the limit of intellectual knowledge 
described by the word ot$a ( oida). 
Their hearts have also known the 
Saviours love, they have believed in 
Him, and belong to God’s family. And 
yet if they do not go farther they do 
not really know (yiyvoxr M—ginosko) 
what a Father they have got ; for 
we shall see there are many children 
in the heavenly family, as there are in 
earthly families, who are strangers to 
their own Father. 

Of the fourth class we will merely 
say here that they have passed this 
stage and personally know the wondrous 
Heavenly Father into whose family 
they have entered ; the practical result 
being not increased salvation or hope 
of heaven, but different thoughts and 
life on earth. 

At first sight it seems impossible that 
any who are indeed members, by faith 
in Christ, of the Divine family, and who 


4. God 
known 
personally. 


32 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Many 
Christians 
do not know 
God. 


Personal 
knowledge 
not a 

question of 
intellect. 


have the spirit of His Son in their 
hearts by which they cry , Abba y Father 
(Rom. viii. 15), can possibly be lacking 
in the personal, the heart knowledge 
( yivwaKCD , cognosce?, connaitre, kennen) of 
God. 

And yet such a condition is not only 
possible, but if one may judge from 
much of the ordinary language and 
ways of Christians is quite common. 

Of course it would be untrue and 
misleading to assert that any Christians 
do not know God, without explaining 
that it is this personal knowledge ( yvcomg 
or e 7 nyvu)(Tis) of which alone we speak 
here. 

Let us note specially that this is no 
question of attainment. The know- 
ledge of those who are still not 
acquainted with God may be very 
profound and broad. A Christian may 
be clear and sound on the Atonement, 
on the Fatherhood of God on the God- 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 33 


head, on the Trinity, on the dispen- 
sational aspect of God, on Jehovah 
Elohim and El Shaddai, on the attributes 
of God which he may not only know 
but deeply admire. All this is quite 
possible and quite common without the 
personal knowledge of God Himself. 
In human affairs, as I have shown, this 
is often seen. I may study and delight 
in a character ; I may know all the 
circumstances, manners, and ways of 
some relative whom I do not know 
personally at all. There is something 
indescribable about personal knowledge 
and contact that separates it entirely 
from any other sort of knowledge. 

A great danger accompanies a pro- 
found intellectual knowledge coupled 
with an utter absence of personal 
acquaintance. For thus even a true 
Christian man may build up from this 
information an ideal that bears little 
or no resemblance to God Himself. 

4 


Danger of 
mere 

intellectual 
knowledge 
of God. 


34 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


It leads to 
Idolatry, 


Christian 
“ idols.” 


It is thus, with the best intentions, 
that false gods are frequently un- 
wittingly made. 

It is worthy of remark here, that the 
very word “ idol ” is directly derived 
from this merely intellectual perception 
(oiSa and of which I speak. 

EtSa> (eido) means to see or perceive, 
or know, and ( eidos ) is an appear- 

ance or perception, and hence etSwAov 
( eidolon ) an idol, or appearance or repre- 
sentation ; of something, mark, that is 
not personally known. 

Those, therefore, whose knowledge 
of God is practically confined to what is 
expressed by oiSa are extremely liable, 
for want of personal knowledge, to 
represent God by some “ idol,” some 
mental projection of their own. 

Christians have sometimes, in this 
way, many gods differing strangely 
one from another. 

This manufacture of idols is due not 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 


35 


only to ignorance of God, but to what 
always go with it — conceit and pre- 
sumption. These both disappear in the 
presence of the Eternal ; but out of it 
they flourish. Even the ordinary 
demagogue or Socialist, however loudly 
he may declaim treason at his club, 
takes off his hat and bows in the 
king’s presence. 

These of whom we speak, however, 
are neither spiritual anarchists nor so- 
cialists. They are, on the contrary, 
loyal subjects of the King of kings, 
and children of God. And yet the 
God they worship seems partly evolved 
from their own consciousness, and 
naturally varies with each person’s 
individuality. 

To thus substitute imagination for 
personal knowledge is what we call 
presumption ; though doubtless it is 
unconscious, and simply arises, on the 
one hand, from failure to grasp that 


36 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


True 

knowledge 
leads to 
humility. 


How we 
treat 
artificial 
gods. 


we are in absolute ignorance of God 
outside revelation ; and, on the other, 
because God, though revealed, is not 
personally known. If our sense of 
our own ignorance were more pro- 
found, our knowledge of God would not 
be so shallow. 

But all these self-made gods are dead, 
for no god lives but the true God ; and 
the gods many and lords many that we 
produce are but lifeless idols, and their 
worship amounts to idolatry. Idolatry 
is the worship of anything short of the 
one true God, and may include even 
the words and doctrines of Scripture 
itself, as well as the forces of Nature or 
the visions of the mind. But oh, the 
dulness of idolatry, the weariness of 
worshipping a dead god, the lifeless- 
ness of much current Christianity ! 
That the god we make for ourselves is 
really to us as an idol is clear, for we 
treat it as such. If it does not act as 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 3 7 

we wish or approve of, we may refuse it 
(temporarily) our worship ; we may find 
fault with it, or excuse it, or apologise 
for it, or explain its method and acts ; 
quite capable, in our own estimation, of 
sitting in judgment on Divine wisdom ! 

Can any one with the smallest reve- 
rence or sense of what he is, and 
who God must be to be God, conceive 
of any worshipper of the true God thus 
acting? I trow not. Such conduct I 
firmly believe does not really spring 
from what the spiritual state may be at 
the time, as some think, but from the 
lack of knowledge (yvwcng) of God. If 
one have this, whatever the state, 
such language were impossible. 

For this idol thus unconsciously set 
up by good Christian people and wor- 
shipped as God is often disfigured by 
the reflexion of the passions of its 
worshippers. It may be vindictive, 
ignorant, or cruel. It is even supposed 


How God 
is dis- 
honoured. 


38 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Contrast 
between 
God and 
idols. 


to act on these lines frequently worse 
than a man would. And thus is God 
traduced and dishonoured in the house 
of His friends. 

If we turn for one moment to Isaiah 
xlvi. we find a remarkable contrast be- 
tween the living God and the dead idol. 

Of the idol and its worshippers it 
says : They fall down , yea, they worship . 
They bear him upon the shoulder , they 
carry him , and set him in his place and 
he standeth ; from his place shall he not 
remove; yea , one shall cry unto him , 
yet can he not answer , nor save him 
out of his trouble . 

Does not this describe the way we 
often treat our god? We set him up, 
worship him fitfully, we cry unto him ; 
and do we not often feel he does not 
answer, nor save us out of our trouble ? 
Let our hearts reply. 

Now look at the living God. I am 
God , and there is none else ; I am God, 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 39 


and there is none else . Even to your old 
age I am he ; and even to hoar hairs 
will I carry you ; I have made , and I 
will bear ; even I will carry , and will 
deliver you. Here is the difference — 
we carry the idol, but the living God 
carries us. The idol neither answers 
nor saves. The true God hears us, and 
will deliver us. Let us just meditate 
on this chapter and ask ourselves which 
of these two Gods, the false or the 
true, is the one we really know and 
worship in our hearts. 

It may be that the statements I have 
made seem harsh and exaggerated. I 
wish they were so. One has but to 
listen to what is said, without shame, 
about God by earnest Christian people, 
and, indeed, often with the idea that they 
are using pious expressions. In trials, 
for instance, they say : “I daily pray 
for grace to trust Him.” “ We must 
believe that God knows best.” “ I 


Current 

Christian 

expressions 


40 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Uttered 

without 

shame. 


Never heard 
where God 
is known. 


am sure God means everything for the 
best, even when He makes me suffer.” 

Then as to favours : “ I hope that 
God will be good to us ” ; or, “ God 
has been very good to us lately.” Or, 
instead of approval, one hears more or 
less open murmurs, “ God Almighty’s 
ways are hard to bear.” “We must 
submit to Him.” “ I wonder why God 
does not,” etc. Or it may be doubt : 
“ I sometimes doubt whether God,” 
etc. ; or, “ I often think if God,” etc. 
Or it may be justification: “You see, 
God was obliged to let,” etc. Or 
grumbling : “ I think it very hard that 
God,” etc. 

All one can say of such expressions, 
many of which are current coin in 
Christian circles, is that they are 
absolutely impossible where God is 
personally known, I care not what the 
person’s state may be. They sound 
so horrible, so daring, so untrue to 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 41 

the ears in which God Himself has 
spoken that they show without a 
doubt exactly where the speaker is 
in relation to the living God. 

I have surnamed thee , says the Lord 
to Cyrus, thoiigh thou hast not known 
me (Isa. xlv. 4), and the verse is very 
applicable to those who are called 
‘‘Sons of God,” and yet do not know 
their Father. God is great , and we 
know him not (Job xxxvi. 26) is true 
in the lives of many good Christians. 

Of course, in one sense, there is ah 

Agnostics 

nothing wonderful in this. Ignorance revelation, 
of all things Divine is natural to man, 
and we are all originally “agnostics” 
as to God. But desiring an object of 
worship, we mix up bits of revelation 
with much of our own ideas, and uncon- 
sciously evolve a God, of whom we dare 
to talk or think as I have indicated. 

The marvel is that some can get be- au our 
yond this ; and it is possible for a man wrong. 


42 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


to be so convinced of his ignorance as 
not to dare to think a thought of his 
own, much less say a word, about God ; 
and to be not only content but over- 
whelmed with gratitude to have un- 
folded to him by revelation through the 
Spirit anything of the Divine. 

It is not the ignorance, but the 
personal knowledge, that is the marvel, 
and it is to this marvel I would lead my 
readers ; simply because I believe that 
here, and here alone, is to be found a 
joy, a rest, a peace, a fulness of life 
that is but little known to Christians in 
general, when it should be the heritage 
of all. 

Christian^ Yet we believe the living Christian 

living God. soul longs and yearns for the living 
God ; and God longs to know His 
children and that they should know 
Him. For I (God) desired the know- 
ledge of God (that we should know 
Him) more than burnt- offerings (Hos. 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 43 


vi. 6). The knowledge of the Holy is 
understanding (Prov. ix. io). 

Before asking the question that 
now arises, “ How can we then thus 
know God ? ” we would have the need 
more deeply felt, the want better 
understood, and the true value of the 
personal knowledge of God more fully 
apprehended. 

Words have been used that are ap- 
parently harsh, but please understand 
they all apply to the writer, who has 
manufactured as many false gods as 
most ; and it is because one has trodden 
this God-dishonouring path so long, that 
one knows it so well. Let me put my 
readers through a very short cate- 
chism. 

Do we ever doubt God’s love? If 
truth compels us to answer “Yes,” then 
there is a sense in which we have never 
known Him. 

Do we ever doubt His wisdom ? 


We have 
all manu- 
factured 
false gods. 


A short 
catechism. 


44 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Our 

language 
the measure 
of our 
knowledge. 


“Yes”? — Then we have never per- 
sonally known Him. 

Do we ever murmur in heart or in 
word against Him ? “Yes ” ? — Then 
we have never thus known Him. 

Do we ever think that as His 
children we might have been treated 
better ? “Yes ” ? — Then we have never 
thus known Him. 

Do we ever doubt if, after all, there 
is a God, or that we are His children ? 
“Yes”? — Then we have never thus 
known Him. 

But the list might be prolonged in- 
definitely. 

Probably by this time, and par- 
ticularly after this catechism, I may 
have aroused in my readers a strong 
sense of disapproval which would be 
best expressed now. 

“ How,” for instance, “can any one 
tell how much a Christian knows of 
God ? And, after all, is not his 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 45 


language about God the measure rather 
of his spiritual communion and state 
than of the extent of his knowledge ? 

In any case, surely it is unnecessarily 
harsh and severe to speak of idols and 
idolatry.” 

In reply I would first remind such 
objectors that I have already pointed 
out that a man’s knowledge of God can 
only be gauged by his language and his 
acts. These, when there is no delibe- 
rate deception, are, I think, a good 
guide ; because they reveal the speaker’s 
mind quite unconsciously. 

Nevertheless, I agree that language £ a ^ guage 
and acts do not wholly depend on on our state 
knowledge, but upon our state as 
well ; and foolish words may at times 
be spoken and foolish deeds done 
that are quite contrary to the usual 
words and acts. I am speaking of 
the normal attitude of mind, and I 
believe there are words and deeds 


46 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Illustration 
of child and 
father. 


Artificial 
“spiritual ” 
communion. 


that never can be said or done by the 
man who personally knows God as his 
Father, even under exceptional cir- 
cumstances. 

Take, as illustration, a child who 
idolises and adores a good father. That 
child may get cross, or cold, or even 
be alienated from its father and speak 
foolishly ; but there are things it cannot 
say and thoughts it cannot even think. 
It never really questions its fathers 
love and wisdom, as Christians do of 
God, when they have no direct know- 
ledge of Him. 

With regard to spiritual communion 
with God of which we hear so much, 
it seems to me that what is so called is 
often a highly artificial and unnatural 
condition of soul, maintained with much 
difficulty and effort by a vast expendi- 
ture of time and thought, and as different 
as possible from the natural, easy, filial 
confidence that exists between a child 


CHRISTIAN AGNOSTICS 47 


and its father. “ Communion ” may 
not be such a common term on the 
lips of those who know God best ; but 
the reality is understood and enjoyed. 

The objection as to idols is natural, 
for the word is harsh ; but will, I am 
sure, be pardoned if it leads to any 
heart-searchings as to who the God 
is who is worshipped, and yet thus 
spoken of ; and whether He is indeed 
the all-loving Father of Scripture or 
some other God — partly of our own 
making. 

The fact remains, in spite of all 
objections, that God the Father, ever Godlsrare ' 
all love and ever all wisdom, is a 
concept not generally realised among 
Christians. And yet it is God’s will 
that He should be known. I know 
( yiyvu)(TK(j ) ) my sheep , says the Good 
Shepherd, and am known of mine 
(John x. 14). 

This is life eternal \ says the Saviour, 


48 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


What is 
eternal life ? 


that they might know (ginosko) thee, 
the only true God, and Jesus Christ 
whom thou hast sent (John xvii. 3). 
As Westcott so beautifully says, 
Eternal life is not connected with 
time, but with the knowledge and 
existence of God (who is beyond all 
time). Eternal life is a unity of 
infinite peace (that springs from infinite 
justice) with the energy of infinite love. 

Those who truly know this can 
never question, never murmur, never 
doubt, never think or speak evil of, 
never explain or apologise for God — 
again. My readers will say for them- 
selves how they stand in this matter. 

And so much, so very much, turns 
on it ! Indeed, everything both in our 
own lives and in our relation to others 
depends upon our personal knowledge 
of God. 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 


Oh, how the thought of God attracts 
And draws the heart from earth, 

And sickens it of passing shows 
And dissipating mirth ! 

The perfect way is hard to flesh ; 

It is not hard to love ; 

If thou wert sick for want of God, 

How swiftly wouldst thou move ! 

A trusting heart, a yearning eye, 

Can win their way above ; 

If mountains can be moved by faith, 

Is there less power in love? 

God only is the creature’s home, 

Though rough and strait the road, 

Yet nothing less can satisfy 
The love that longs for God. 

Oh, utter but the name of God 
Down in your heart of hearts, 

And see how from the world at once 
All tempting light departs. 

F. W. Faber. 




CHAPTER III 

HOW TO KNOW GOD 

I HAVE pointed out at some length 
the two sets of words for “knowing” 
in different languages, the former of 
which indicate knowledge of the head 
or intellect, producing thoughts (o^a, scio, 
savoir , and wissen), the latter knowledge 
of the heart or personal, producing 
feelings ( yiyvhXTKu ), cognosco , connaitre, 
and kennen). 

It is the personal — the heart know- 
ledge — of which I now speak . 1 There 

1 It is not a little curious that in every pas- 
sage quoted in this chapter at haphazard from 
the New Testament the word “to know” is 
51 


Two words 
for 

“ knowing.” 


52 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


How to 
know God. 


is yet an intenser, stronger word 
reserved for the most intimate possible 
personal knowledge of God vouchsafed 
to man, of which I will speak later on 
in this chapter. 

But how are we thus to know 
God? We read in Proverbs ii. 4, 5, If 
thou seekest her as silver , and searchest 
for her as for hid treasure , then shalt 
thou understand the fear of the Lord> 
and find the knowledge of God. There 
is here required the earnest desire as 
for hid treasure (for indeed there is no 
treasure to compare with this). There 
is in the Christian heart an aching 
void that longs and longs for the 
personal revelation of God. And this 
very desire to know our Father comes 
from that loving Father Himself : 
I will give them a heart to know me 
(Jer. xxiv. 7), was written of old. 

found, on looking afterwards at the Greek, to be 
yi yvuxTKU. 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 


53 


What a new and glorious revelation 
is this promise of knowledge ! Few 
passages in the Scriptures equal in 
beauty and sublimity of language that 
which describes this illumination of 
heart and soul : For God ' who com - JJe mu- ^ 
nianded the light to shine out of dark - S. tand 
ness, hath shined in our hearts , to give 
the light of the knowledge of the 
glory of God in the face of Jesus 
Christ (2 Cor. iv. 6). 

It is in our hearts, not our heads, 
this glorious light shines. From the 
moment this knowledge has entered 
our lives we are linked evermore with 
the Divine ; and a change begins in us 
as a result that progresses day by day 
— in the soul, in the life, in the ways. 

This knowledge, too, is intimately f h e *ig^ and 
connected with feelings , just as that 
of the intellect is connected with 
thoughts . I have already pointed this 
out in the first chapter, and may now 


54 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Light from 
Sophocles. 


Iole and 
Hercules. 


illustrate it from Sophocles in a sketch 
of the way in which the presence of 
a god was known to the princess of 
Attica by the change in her feelings 
rather than her thoughts. The pas- 
sage is most remarkable. 

O Iole , one said to the fair daughter 
of the King of Attica, how did you know 
that Hercules was a God? Now mark 
the answer. Because I was content the 
moment mine eyes rested on him . He 
conquered \ whether he stood or walked 
or sat. 

Just so. There is the whole story. 
Faith cometh by hearing , and hearing 
by the Word of God. We may hear 
from the Scriptures that God is our 
Father, that He is love, and that 
He is light, i.e., perfect justice ; and 
yet, Christians as we are and have 
been for many years, and despite our 
having filled our minds with the 
intellectual knowledge of God, we may 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 55 

have to be brought back to the first 
elements of truth, and have to confess 
(oh ! happy hour when we do) that 
we have never yet believed these 
wondrous words in our heart of hearts 
— but that from this moment never, 
never can we doubt them again. 

And now comes the crowning won- 
der, for the very moment that we thus 
truly believe, we find ourselves at once 
in the actual presence of God, it may 
be for the first time ; and, like Israel, 
Israel shall cry , My God \ we know thee 
(Hos. viii. 2), we cry “ My God and 
my Father!” We knew God is God 
first by faith, but now we know by ex- 
perience, by feeling. Like I ole, we are 
“ content ” (note the word) the moment 
our eyes rest upon Him . 

Pause one instant here to ask, 
“ Does this ineffable, this unmistak- 
able, this unchangeable content possess 
my heart ? ” 


We enter 

God’s 

presence. 


We are 
“ content ” 
when we 
know God. 


56 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


“ Now mine 
eye seeth 
Thee." 


The next experience that I ole felt 
was that He conquered whether he 
stood \ or walked \ or sat . 

In like manner the soul, loving, 
adoring, is overcome with the most 
profound reverence and the deepest 
humility, for the meeting-place with 
God is ever holy ground. Indeed, so 
deep, so marvellous is the change, that 
after it is realised one seems to have 
crossed some gulf since yesterday. 
Then we could question, we could 
murmur, we could doubt, we could talk 
about God, this Father, without 
humility, without reverence. How 
dared we ? How could we ? The 
thought is pain to us now. Then we 
had heard with the hearing of the ear, 
but now our eyes see, and we repent in 
dust and ashes. Yet we were Chris- 
tians, and good Christians too — hard 
workers at church and school, and 
well known in religious circles. 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 


5 ; 


Now what a difference this new per- 
ception makes in the knowledge of 
God ! And how well we see too that 
we did not before know God at all. 
The god we knew was not the living 
God. We could not know Him, and 
speak and act and think as we did. 
The very thought were foolishness. 

Those who live thus in Gods 
presence bear themselves as His true 
servants ever must, and it needs no 
voice of thunder to keep them humble 
or command their reverence ; His Pre- 
sence is enough. Consider what it is 
to the soul to be conscious of the pre- 
sence of the living God. How hushed 
for ever are all the blasphemous 
thoughts, the rash, foolish, and impious 
words that once so defiled our hearts 
and lips even as Christians! 

But in what aspects do we know 
this God? We may take four and 
briefly consider them one by one. 


Our words 
and acts 
change. 


Effect of 

God’s 

presence. 


Four 
aspects of 
God. 


58 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


They are God our Father — The Living 
God — Him that is true — The love which 
God hath in us (R.V.), or Fatherhood, 
life, truth, and love. 

First, Fatherhood. I write unto you, 
little children , because you have known 
the Father (i John ii. 13). 

Now just pause and consider, and 
ask yourself another question — “ Do I 
know this Father ? ” or am I like some 
Anglo-Indian children brought up in 
England, who have never seen their 
father? They know a lot about him. 
No doubt ever crosses their mind that 
they are his children, and he their 
father (and in this they go beyond 
many Christians). They know all 
about his goodness and bravery in India. 
He sends them pocket-money, and they 
know his writing, and doubt not the 
letters come from him (and here again 
they surpass many critical Christians). 
But they do not know him personally, 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 


59 


though they have each a mental image 
of him, no two of which are alike ; 
and all differ vastly from the original. 

How can the human see the Divine ? 
How can the finite apprehend anything 
of the Infinite? By faith and medi- 
tation and prayer it is possible, because 
the Spirit of His Son dwells in our 
hearts. 

By faith — a firm, irrevocable, unques- 
tioning grasp of the facts. He is our 
Father, He is love, He is light. 

But faith here means far more than 
mere assent. It really amounts to a 
mental eating of the ideas, an assimi- 
lating of the thought, so that it forms 
an actual part of the ego, a part of one’s 
character. Indeed, when the facts are 
laid hold of, it becomes so absolutely 
a part of one’s self that one could as 
soon doubt one’s own existence as to 
doubt the Fatherhood, or the love, or 
the wisdom of God. It will be seen 


Faith, 
meditation 
and prayer 


Eating the 
words. 
Assimi- 
lation. 


6o THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


that this statement goes a long way, 
but it must be remembered that God 
is so great, the Infinite so over- 
powering to the finite, the Eternal to 
us mortals, that the smallest faith that 
really brings us into personal touch 
with God takes us all the way, and God 
becomes henceforth the greatest fact 
and factor in our lives. Observe, it is 
quite possible to have a saving faith in 
the atonement and to have the new 
birth without ever possessing this know- 
ledge at all. 

waiting on By meditation , or in Biblical phrase, 

waiting on God. This waiting, so often 
spoken of in the Old Testament, is not, 
I am told, as would seem, a passive 
attitude, but an active reaching out of 
the spirit towards God. The meaning 
of the word was illustrated to me by 
the figure of a plant growing within a 
cave, stretching its stalk to an abnormal 
length to reach the light, but bearing 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 


6 1 


neither flowers nor fruit till it got there. 

This is zvaiting on God. 

And then by prayer , which cannot be 
limited to asking for benefits, but must 
include all intercourse of the child with 
the Father ; for one would not think 
much of a child who never spoke to his 
father except to ask him for something. ££y r e a r cterof 
It is true some Christians do this, as chansed ' 
some schoolboys do, and especially those 
Anglo-Indian children of whom I spoke ; 
but this only goes to prove the point that 
such children never knew their father. 

The fact is that, the personal know- 
ledge of God entirely changes the 
character of prayer as well as of all 
else. There are much fewer requests 
especially for one s self, and particularly 
for material blessings; and there is much 
more outpouring of the heart in love, 
adoration, and praise. What helps this 
prayer immensely is to remember that 
however imperfectly we may know and 


62 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


apprehend God, He perfectly knows 
and comprehends us. But now that ye 
have come to know God ’ or rather to 
be known of God (Gal. iv. 9, R.V.). 

Let me repeat that in every passage 
in this chapter “ to know ” is yiyvdxrKu), 
the personal or heart knowledge. 

"Appre- I should like also to draw attention 

hend” and 

hend/' 5re " to the difference between “ apprehend ” 
and “ comprehend.” The latter word 
is never used in the New Testament. 
KaTaXa/ufiavu) is to apprehend or per- 
ceive, not fully to grasp. To appre- 
hend is to lay hold of a part ; to 
comprehend is to surround the whole. 
On earth, and now, the utmost we can 
do is to apprehend some small portion 
of the infinite glories of God, but God 
comprehends and knows us altogether. 

The living The second point to consider is that 
God is the living God. It is the life we 
want to grasp, for all our idols are dead ; 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 


63 


and in much false religion the mind 
is resolutely fixed on a dead, impassive, 
Buddha-like conception of God and not 
on the living Father ; on a dead Christ (as 
in a crucifix) and not on the living Lord. 

That I may know Him , and the power 
of His resurrection (Phil. iii. 10), says 
the apostle ; that is, the power of His 
life. It is a living Lord and God that 
Paul would know. 

It is impossible to know (yivcoaKio) kZwuSge 

implies life. 

what is not alive. It is quite possible 
to know it intellectually, but personal 
knowledge of the dead whom we never 
knew alive is a contradiction of terms. 

All false religions have dead gods ; 
it is the glory and distinction of 
Christianity to have a living God. 

This is frequently not known and 
realised — hence there is no personal 
knowledge, no real communion. It is 
a long step from a God who is a Force, 
who is unknowable and impersonal, to 


64 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


What love 
is. 


The true 
God. 


a living Father — to my living Father ; 
and the results in mind and heart and 
life are no less far reaching. 

Love , said a famous preacher at West- 
minster Abbey the other day, is the 
effort to take another life into our own . 

So God in His infinite love takes our 
life into His ; and that is a wondrous 
event in our history when through the 
personal link of love we take His life 
into ours. Not living only , he infused 
new life , says Bickersteth, speaking of 
the quickening power of Christ. And 
it is in the power of His resurrection 
that we learn this, for apart from this 
we are dead Godward ; and we must 
have life to enjoy life. 

The third aspect in which we may 
know God is as him that is true , as 
set forth in i John v. 20 : That we may 
know him that is true . 

It is the revelation in the soul of the 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 65 

truth, the justice, the light which God 
is, has, and shows forth. 

Pause once again and ask yourself 
this question : “ Do I know Him that 
is true ? Is God’s justice and truth a 
fact as simple and unquestioned as my 
own existence? Do I absolutely and 
without reserve of any sort believe 
it ? Do I know it in my inmost being, 
in my heart ; as well as clearly see by 
my reason that a God who is other- 
wise is a false God, a dead idol?” No 
God can be my God, no God can be 
the living Lord of heaven and earth, 
who is not light, justice, and truth. 

But it is more than this. A XnOrig 
signifies true, but aXrjOivog , the word 
used here, has the special force of real 
— reality. We might well read this 
passage, That we may personally know 
him that is reality. Now, observe what 
a force we have here. The reality is 
God ; all else are passing shows, or 
6 


True means 
real. 


God is the 
great reality. 


66 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


figments created by our own minds, or 
fictitious projections of our own senses. 
The reality is God ; all else, in a sense, 
is unreal. Just think over this. Let 
the force of it slowly burn in on the soul. 
Read again the text, That we may know 
(personally) him that is real , and let 
your mind slowly turn round from its 
former attitude of thinking that the 
things which are seen are real, and that 
God and the unseen are obscure and 
somewhat dubious objects of faith, until 
you see and believe that the centre of 
all reality is God, and that it is as 
things recede from Him and as they are 
materialised that they become unreal . 1 

It will be seen that in finally settling 

1 We are quite aware that here we touch some- 
what closely on a truth contained in that American 
mysticism miscalled Christian Science ; and surely 
it is the fact that it does contain certain truths 
that make it the more dangerous where not in 
line with Scripture. Half-truths, not whole false- 
hoods, are they which are most misleading. 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 67 

this one point of view we alter the 
focus of a thousand other questions. 

This standpoint once adopted, no 
further questionings can arise, no ex- 
planation or apologies are needed ; nay, 
they become presumptious and unpar- 
donable when God is thus known. 

The man who does not know the 
king, says and thinks anything he 
likes. But once he enters the court 
circle, and enjoys the king’s favour, his 
words are few, and nothing is ques- 
tioned that the king as king says 
or does. 

One may thus judge somewhat by 
the conversation when in Christian 
company how much is known of God. 

The last aspect I would consider here 
in which God may be known to us is 
as love. God is love : — “ And we know 
. . . the love which God hath in us . 
God is love (1 John iv. 16, R.V.). 


Our know- 
ledge shown 
by our 
words. 


The God 
who is love. 


68 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


It is obvious, if we believe in and 
know ( ytyvioGKw ) our living Father, who 
is true, and who is love, we have all ; 
for what more is there? This is the 
central fact, the reality of life, once it 
is grasped ; and nothing, nothing can 
compare with it in value. All else in 
life are incidents, circumstances, events, 
changing from day to day into rough 
and smooth, up and down, hard and 
easy, pleasant and disagreeable, plea- 
surable and painful ; which, to the one 
who enjoys the knowledge of which 
we speak, are but as the sound of 
howling wind and lashing rain on the 
window-panes of a warm, well-built, 
well-lighted room in which he sits — at 
home. 

Perhaps some weary soul and tem- 
pest-tossed spirit may sigh wistfully 
or despairingly over these words, but 
when these four points, and these alone, 
are fully known and realised, the result 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 69 

follows as surely as the shadow follows 
the body which moves towards the 
light. 

To recapitulate, the four points are : 
God is my Father ; He is the living 
God ; He is truth ; and He is love. 

Let us look for a moment more at 
this last point. 

How shall I speak of the love of 
God? 

Could I with ink the ocean fill, 

Were the whole sky of parchment made, 

Were every blade of grass a quill, 

And every man a scribe by trade — 

To write the love of God to man 
Would drain the ocean dry, 

Nor could the scroll contain the whole 
Though stretched from earth to sky. 

Let me for a moment take the 
standpoint of one who with a per- 
sonal knowledge of God and His love 
tries to put into language his experience 
concerning it ; because experimental 


The love of 
God cannot 
be told. 


The lan- 
guage of 
experience. 


70 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


The delight 
of the home 
circle. 


Agnostic 

period. 


language befits our theme far better 
than didactic or theoretic. 

One looks out from the warm circle 
of God’s love into a cold and distracted 
world pretty much as one may look out 
of the windows of a warmed, well- 
lighted express that is bearing one 
home, at a howling, angry storm raging 
without. 

And then, as an upward stream of 
gratitude ascends, one recalls with 
wonder how it all came about. It 
seems to be in two stages. 

1 There was the Agnostic period — the 
long life without knowledge of God at 
all, when the heavens were as brass and 
all the horizon bounded by the material. 
And then there was the night on which 
God spoke — spoke to the soul in words 
of life, when faith and hope were lighted 


1 This is not a record of personal experience, 
but a description in the first person of the steps 
that in some cases lead to God. 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 


7i 


in the heart, and when God became 
known (oiSa) in Christ as the Saviour 
God, the new Father of a new-born 
child. The heavens were opened, and 
the invisible and eternal became reali- 
ties to the soul. The Agnostic stage 
was passed, and God was made known 

(ofSa). 

And this knowledge deepened ; more knowledge 1 

. of God. 

and more was found out about the 
Saviour, the Father, and the Home as 
one studied and put oneself in the way 
of such knowledge. But the rough and 
tumble of life pressed sore, and doubts 
arose. A sudden crash came : God was Backslidin s- 
questioned and heaven was eclipsed ; 
darkness came over the soul which, 
though it had believed in God, had 
never personally known Him. And 
then a Hand stretched forth and drew 
the battered, darkened soul into the 
light again, and into the warmth, and 
God’s voice said — 


72 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Personal ac- 
quaintance 
with God. 


“ Am I your Father ? Well, sit 1 and 
look at Me.” 

“Am I all love? Well, sit and love 


Me. 


j) 


“Am I all wise? Well, worship and 
adore Me.” 

And then thought followed thought, 
and as the eye of faith opened, God 
revealed Himself personally to the soul 
as never before ; and the love that 
passes knowledge was at length known 
The — a love that treats each one with a care 

tenderness 

i°ove. ods and a tenderness that makes us realise 
our high position. Why, we cannot stir 
abroad without two guardian angels 
(like the faithful detectives who every- 
where attend the king) shadowing us 
wherever we go. We do not often catch 
sight of them, but we know they are 
there, following us all the way ; one is 
detectives, called goodness , and one is called mercy . 
F or goodness and mercy shall follow me 
all the days of my life (Psa. xxiii. 6). 

1 Seated . . . in the heavenly places (Eph. ii. 6). 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 73 
It is to these Psalms the heart now The ?? al t 1 ?* 

speak to the 

turns. One does not go first to the New eart ’ 
Testament for the expression of heart- 
thoughts, but to the Old, for though 
knowledge increases, the language of 
the heart remains the same in all ages ; 
and we find in David’s utterances the 
language of our own feelings, as all have 
found to whom God Himself is known. 

It is here indeed we find the Saviour’s 
heart revealed, as in Psalms xvi. and 
xxii. In the Gospels we hear Him 
speak and see Him move, but it is in 
the Psalms that the mainspring is laid 
bare that moved that perfect life. 

I have given an imaginary experience, 
but I will now give a real one from a 
letter recently received : — 

I wonder if you remember telling me testimony. 
to read Romans v. 5. I almost realise 
that one could be able even down here to 
rejoice in suffering — of course , if we 
know God we rejoice in everything . It 


74 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


is true , and I have foimd it . The last 
six 7nonths have , I think, been the very 
happiest of my life , though I think I 
have never suffered more , which sounds 
a very paradoxical thing to say — but you 
will understand. It is the half know- 
ledge that hinders one from learning. 

I used at one time always to be want- 
ing things for myself, not material 
things or necessarily in the least harm- 
ful things ; but sympathy , appreciation, 
culture of talents, etc . Now I feel as 
if I wanted absolutely nothing , and 
suddenly I find myself rich in all that 
is worth having ; and able to give, and 
give, and give to all I meet who are in 
any need. 

How can I illustrate this ? I have 
a pipe that brings water down from a 
small cistern that holds a gallon. Such 
a cistern is soon emptied. But if it be 
connected with a lake miles long, I 
find to my surprise that the cistern, 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 


75 


though it still only holds a gallon, has 
suddenly become inexhaustible. My 
heart is the gallon cistern, and soon runs 
dry ; but once connected with God it 
never can, and I am able to give , and 
give , and give to all. 

The letter continues : I do not know 
that I can explain very clearly ; it is 
simply like living in a new world. I 
do not fret any more over sleepless 
nights , and so they do not seem to harm 
me as they did. The power of Christ 
within can overcome even this engrained 
enemy of heredity , and I hardly now 
ever feel irritable , and never show it as 
I used to. 

Such a letter speaks for itself, and 
needs no explanation from me. 

Let us now pass on to consider a 
fuller knowledge still, for which a 
special Greek word is reserved. 
’Et nyivuHTKio (epiginosko), the verb, occurs 


The deepest 
knowledge 
of all. 


;6 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


in connection with the knowledge of 
God four times in the New Testament, 
and £ 7 riyvu)(TiQ (epignosis), the noun, 
occurs seven times. One of them is in 
connection with the judgment of God 
(Rom. i. 32) ; the other ten we will ex- 
amine in the order in which they occur. 

In Matt. xi. 27 we read, No one 
knoweth (ImyLvwvKui) the Son , save the 
Father , neither doth any know the 
Father , save the Son — a passage which 
shows to what a height this fuller know- 
ledge may extend, referring as it does 
here to that absolute knowledge that 
springs from unity, a knowledge in- 
conceivable to us. It is, of course, no 
wonder that such a special word should 
be used, for it is evident human lan- 
guage is here strained to the utmost. 
But we are filled with wonder as we 
mark the conclusion of the verse, and 
he to whomsoever the Son willeth to 
reveal him ; for we see this deep, this 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 


77 


perfect knowledge is said to belong to 
those to whom the Son reveals the 
Father. If we are to press the full 
meaning of the word here, we must 
consider this special knowledge is the 
portion of few, and refers to those 
saintly souls whose consecrated lives 
proclaim their nearness to the Divine. 

In all our inquiries and all our 
studies on this subject we can only 
judge of the measure of the acquaint- 
ance of others with God by certain 
well-marked results in life and conduct. 

It seems to me that the moment 
the dark days of Agnosticism end and 
acquaintance with God commences 
a distinct change of character is seen : 
the Bible is studied ; the language 
and life have constant reference to 
the Divine ; a new peace and joy is 
seen and felt. But if the knowledge 
extends not beyond the ot£>«, there may 
also be language and thoughts concern- 


Few possess 
this deepest 
knowledge 


God changes 
the 

character. 


78 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

ing God deeply dishonouring to Him, 
as well as much complaint and misery. 

Let the knowledge progress a 
second stage, and become yiyvuvicu) 
(personal), and the character under- 
goes a further change, just as clear 
and well marked as after the soul 
first passed from death to life : of 
course it may be simultaneous with 
this. Humility and reverence are now 
ever marked in connection with God. 
He is never named or thought of 
without love and adoration ; and all 
unsuitable thoughts, murmurings, and 
questionings become not only sup- 
pressed but impossible. The spirit, 
too, is calm, and steady, and earnest. 

If to this we add the yet deeper 
development described by ETriyvwo-ig, we 
reach the greatest nearness to God 
attainable on earth ; we find im- 
pressed on the finite the closest 
likeness to the Infinite; the life and 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 


79 


thought are wholly consecrated, and 
all now belongs to the Father Infinite, 
who is now all and in all. 
i The other passage we note where 
the verb describing this fullest know- 
ledge occurs twice is in i Cor. xiii. 12, 
and refers to the full blaze of know- 
ledge in heaven, Then shall I (fully) 
know even as also / am (fully) known. 

The noun zmyvwaiQ first occurs in 
Eph. i. 17 : That the God of our Lord 
Jesus Christ , the Father of glory, may 
give unto you the spirit of wisdom and 
revelation in the (full) knowledge of 
him . Here we see that this deep 
knowledge of God is the result of the 
gift of a spirit of special wisdom and 
knowledge from God. Ephes. iv. 13 
(R.V.), Till we all attain unto the unity 
of the faith and of the (full) knowledge 
of the Son of God , refers also to final 
perfection in knowledge ; but Col. i. 
9, 10 (R.V.) speaks of the present, 


We shall 
fully know 
God. 


8o THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


The most 
wonderful 
prayer of 
St. Paul. 


To know 
God is 
heaven 
be^un. 


and is the most amazing passage 
we have yet reached. The apostle 
prayed that the Colossians may be 
filled with the (full) knowledge of his 
will in all spiritual wisdom and under- 
standings to walk worthy of the Lord 
unto all pleasing , bearing fruit in 
every good work } and increasing in the 
(full) knowledge of God. 

Consider what, in the first place, a full 
knowledge of the will of God must mean, 
involving, as the apostle here says, all 
spiritual wisdom and understanding. 

And again, increasing in the (full) 
knowledge of God. If heaven consists 
in the knowledge of and enjoyment 
of God, it was surely begun with any 
of these Colossians for whom the 
apostles prayers were answered. And 
we believe it was not confined to them, 
but that such a knowledge has been 
enjoyed all through the ages by men 
of God whose lives have borne wit- 


HOW TO KNOW GOD 81 

ness to the closeness of their walk 
with Him. 

The remaining four instances are 
in 2 Peter, and I think are charac- 
teristic of his writing (as he only 
uses the simpler word “yvwtxte” once 
in relation to God), and correspond 
in their intensity with his use of multiply 
(2 Pet. i. 2) instead of the add of 
St. Paul. 

Our consideration, therefore, of this 
fuller word opens up these three 
thoughts : that this is the knowledge 
that Christ Himself possesses, and 
that we shall certainly enjoy in 
heaven : that even now, apparently, 
in answer to earnest and special 
prayer, it is vouchsafed to those 
who are near enough to God to 
receive it : and that those who have 
this deeper personal revelation show 
its effects indelibly impressed upon 
their life and character. 


Strong 
language of 
St. Peter. 


The fullest 
knowledge 
of God may 
be enjoyed 
now. 


7 


Personal 
knowledge 
leads to 
greater 
intelligence, 


82 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

Finally, returning to yiyvcjaicu), there 
is no doubt that as this personal 
knowledge is enjoyed it leads to a 
further and fuller understanding of. the 
oida or intelligence in the Divine reve- 
lation ; which intelligence alone, how- 
ever diligently pursued, is barren and 
unfruitful apart from the real know- 
ledge of God. 

More near than I unto myself can be 
Art Thou to me ; 

So have I lost myself in finding Thee, 

Have lost myself for ever, O my Sun ! 

The boundless Heaven of Thine eternal love 

Around me, and beneath me, and above ; 

In glory of that golden day 

The former things have passed away, 

I, past and gone. 

Gerhardt Ter SteEgen. 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 


Only to sit and think of God, 

Oh ! what a joy it is ! 

To think the thought, to breathe the name, 
Earth has no higher bliss. 

There’s not a craving in the mind 
Thou dost not meet and still ; 

There’s not a wish the heart can have 
Which Thou dost not fulfil. 

O little heart of mine! shall pain 
Or sorrow make thee moan, 

When all this God is all for thee, 

A Father all thine own? 

Father! what hast Thou grown to now? 

A joy all joys above, 

Something more sacred than a fear, 

More tender than a love l 

With gentle swiftness lead me on, 

Dear God ! to see Thy face ; 

And meanwhile in my narrow heart 
Oh ! make Thyself more space. 

F. W. Faber. 


CHAPTER IV 

THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 

I PROPOSE in this chapter to con- 
sider some special features in the 
life of a Christian who possesses this 
personal knowledge of God of which I 
speak. Perhaps a glance at a Bible- 
picture from the Old Testament may- 
help us a little in the outset. 

We all know that as the Divinity is 
known to us in three persons, so there 
are arrayed against the soul three 
powers of evil — the world, the flesh, 
and the devil. 

In the story of the children of 

85 


Three 
powers of 
evil— the 
world, the 
flesh, and 
the devil. 


86 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Israel we see the picture of the Chris- 
tians life. They were slaves in Egypt 
until they were redeemed from this 
bondage by the death of the lamb and 
the sprinkling of its blood, of which 
The story of the Passover was the commemoration. 

Israel. 

They then passed through the Red Sea 
and left Pharaoh and his host at the 
bottom of it ; being thus delivered from 
Egypt and its prince by water, as the 
Christian is delivered from the power of 
the world and of the devil by the death 
of Christ. 

The flesh, i.e, } themselves continued 
with them, and gave them great 
trouble for forty years, until they 
too were left at the bottom of another 
water (the Jordan) by placing twelve 
stones, representing the twelve tribes, 
there, before entering Canaan. Thus 
all three enemies, the world, the flesh, 
and the devil, were left behind before 
nof heaven, they reached the promised land. That 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 8; 


Canaan was no picture of heaven is 
clear, seeing that so much fighting went 
on there ; but it is equally clear that it 
is a type or picture of the heavenly 
places spoken of in Eph. vi. 12, as 
this is the very spot where all the 
hardest fighting goes on. And yet, in 
spite of the battles, Canaan had its own 
delights unknown to the desert. The 
barren sands were replaced by the rich 
soil of valley and mountain-side clothed 
with the vine and fig-tree, the manna 
by the old corn of the land (Josh. v. 1 1), 
the pathless track by the walled cities, 
and the arid desert by the luxuriant pas- 
tures and plains well watered by lakes 
and rivers. (Now all these things hap- 
pened unto them for ensamples : and 
they are written for our admonition , 
upon whom the ends of the world are 
come — 1 Cor. x. 11). 

If now, turning from this picture to 
the reality, the type to the antitype, and 


88 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


The tired 
pilgrim. 


you compare Heb. iv. 1 1 with 
Eph. ii. 6, you will at once see 
the difference between the wilderness 
and Canaan, and at the same time 
perceive that the Christian is said even 
now to be in both these different places 
— in the wilderness as to his body and 
outward life, in Canaan as to his spirit 
and inner life. I wonder if I can explain 
how a man can be tramping through life, 
labouring to enter into that rest, and 
yet at the same time be seated in 
heavenly places in Christ Jesus; or, 
in other words, how Israelites might be 
walking across the desert and yet be 
living at home in Canaan ? 

Well, though it may be logically 
impossible for a man to be in two 
places at once, it is possible in a 
spiritual sense. 

Just look at the two pictures for a 
moment. There is the footsore, weary 
pilgrim faithfully pressing on, yet very 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 89 


tired and often very cross, hardly, per- 
haps, a pleasant companion, for there is 
so much against him along the rough 
road that he has all he can do to keep 
his footing. But the pilgrim is worse 
than this ; for the man who has not 
crossed the Jordan often grumbles and 
complains against and often doubts the 
living God, often turns back again in 
heart to Egypt (see Num. xiv.). 

Now look at the other picture. You 
see a man at rest in Canaan, sitting in 
happy company at home. The two are 
complete contrasts. To sit together in 
heavenly places in Christ Jesus. What 
does this mean ? Observe the words. 
First, in heavenly places. Do you know 
what it is to be in anything ? What a 
difference it makes. The other day I 
was near York, and the rain was lashing 
and the wind howling, and it was fear- 
fully wet and cold and miserable. But I 
was dry and warm and happy, being in 


The child at 
home. 


In Christ 
Jesus. 


90 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Seated in 
heavenly 
places. 


a dining saloon of a Great Northern 
express. Some years ago I was at the 
top of Snowdon, and a dreadful thunder- 
storm was raging ; the rain came down 
in torrents. I was safe and dry, being 
in the little hut at the top. Last year I 
was off Jaffa, and the sea was tossing; 
the boats rose and fell some twenty feet, 
and the sailors staggered about in them, 
often well-nigh overboard ; but I never 
moved as I stood looking on at the 
tumult below, for I was on the deck 
of a huge Hamburg- American liner. 
So also, in the storms of life what you 
are “in” makes all the difference, and 
in this ship there was no motion to 
be felt. 

I cannot, of course, say what idea 
being in heavenly places conveys to my 
readers. To me it seems the acme of 
safety and comfort , 1 in complete con- 

1 It has, of course, another side, as we have 
shown, where we stand and fight ; but here it is 
no question of this. 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 91 

trast to the toilsome scenes of earth’s 
pilgrimage. 

Seated together is the next phrase 
to consider. This appears to be in 
direct antithesis to the perpetual 
walking of the pilgrim, and also to 
the firm standing of the warrior 
(chap, vi.), so often solitary. It does 
not imply physical progress, at any 
rate. It suggests the ideas of rest, 
comfort, companionship, peace and 
quiet ; it speaks of the inner life 
of the Christian who knows his God 
— it revives and strengthens him for 
the fierce and undying conflict with all 
the powers of evil that rage around 
him, as described in chap, vi. 1 

And, lastly, consider the phrase, in 
Christ Jesus. Here, indeed, language 
fails, and the mind falters in trying 
to realise the meaning of such words. 

1 Compare here 1 Kings x. 5 : the sitting of 
his ( Solomon's ) servants. 


Rest, safety, 
and 

enjoyment. 


92 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


To be saved by Christ Jesus, to 
believe in Christ Jesus, is much ; 
but to be in Christ Jesus — what can 
it mean? Surely it is the expression 
of the greatest nearness to God of 
which language is capable ! The whole 
sentence, perhaps, may be paraphrased : 
Placed in a condition of perfect rest , 
safety , and enjoyment , so near God as 
to hnozv Him , not as His far-off subjects 
may , but as the sons of His house, the 
members of His family. 

The man who is in this position and 
knows it, is a delightful person to meet ; 
he is pleasant in manner, he is not tired 
or hurried or depressed or murmuring. 
He is seated at home in his own sphere 
and enjoying it. Hence, with every 
want supplied, in touch with all-love 
and all-wisdom, he is naturally utterly 
unselfish (no praise to him), and is full 
of strength and courage to fight the 
good fight, to finish his course, and to 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 93 


keep the faith [the warfare, the walk, 
the witness of the Christian man 
(2 Tim. iv. 7)]. But the secret of it all, 
the source of his strength and untiring 
zeal, is found in his being seated 
together in the heavenly places in Christ 
Jesus. No murmur is ever heard here, 
no doubts are possible here — no dis- 
cords of earth’s purblind reasonings. 
The eye is opened, and the ears ; and, 
the tongue has learned to speak the 
language of Heaven, so that it calls 
bitter, sweet ; and pain, joy ; and all 
ill, good, — so it be His sweet will. 

Such, then, is the twofold life of God’s 
child, at home now with God in Christ 
in Heavenly Places, in perfect happi- 
ness while fighting the battles of the 
Lord, or standing at His door and wait- 
ing, or treading a lonely path across a 
wilderness just as it pleases Him. 


No 

murmurs in 

heavenly 

places. 


The twofold 
life of God’s 
child. 


So far we have considered the Chris- 


94 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


We have 
absolute 
defence 
against evil. 


tian as seated far away in spirit from 
the busy scenes of life — in Christ Jesus. 
Consider now a little the ordinary outer 
life of God’s child from day to day. 
What is it like ? What marks does it 
bear which show that the Father is 
personally known ? 

I think we may enumerate a few. 
We have a defence ; we grow ; we live 
in harmony ; we are at liberty ; we keep 
time ; our character is changed in 
many ways. Let us consider now a 
little some of these marks of a per- 
sonal knowledge of God. 

In the first place it is an absolute 
defence against all evil, as described 
in those wonderful words in Phil. iv. 7 : 
And the peace of God which pas set h 
all understanding shall keep your hearts. 
Keep is literally to garrison , and is a 
military term : it is so used in 2 Cor. 
xi. 32 : Kept the city of the Damascenes 
with a garrison. In Psa. xxxi. 20 we 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 95 


read, Thou shalt keep them secretly in 


a pavilion from the strife of tongues . 


Of course if God is round about one, 

He is not only nearer than aught 
else, but nothing can reach one except 
through Him : and it is thus, and thus 
alone, the soul can be kept in perfect 
peace while storms rage without. 

It is possible that a very simple 
diagram may help here better than ° fG0£L 
explanatory words. 


Friends. 


Circumstances. 


Enemies. 


Relation 


Health, 


Riches, 


Mone 



THINGS. 


PERSONS 


Poverty. 

Sickness. 

Loss. 

Gain. 

Prosperity. 


Fame. Adversity. 


Pleasure. 


Pain. 


(Psa. cxxv. 2.) 


This shows clearly that nothing can 


96 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Christ 
was mis- 
understood. 


Peace 
depends on 
position. 


reach one so kept except through 
God. 1 

Our Lord Himself experienced this 
all through His life on earth. He 
experienced it in the unbelief of His 
brethren ; He experienced it in the 
misunderstandings and desertions of 
His own disciples; in the cruel calumnies 
and coldness of His own cities. He 
passed through all this with a deep 
and perfect calm of spirit, an unruffled 
depth of soul — hidden secretly in a 
pavilion from the strife of tongues. 

And not only may we also thus be 
kept through storm and calm, through 
prosperity and adversity, through evil 
report and good report, through our in- 
tercourse with friends and foes, through 
love and hate, but we may be so kept 

1 Take the case of bitter, spiteful remarks, no 
doubt in themselves the work of Satan, but which 
by the time they reach one have become God’s 
will for one. Things wrong in themselves, pass- 
ing through the peace of God, become blessings. 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 97 


without effort ; it is a question of fact, 
dependent on position. The things 
really do not and cannot touch us in 
the same way at all if they have to 
pass through the peace of God first. 
Nothing can hurt us , says Maeterlinck, 
save through the medium of our own 
minds , and if this mind is garrisoned 
by God we cannot really be hurt. (See 
also Luke x. 19 : Nothing shall by any 
means hurt you.) 

This protection is something like a 
defence still used though little known. 

I allude to a shirt of the finest chain- 
mail worn under the ordinary dress. 
The man wearing this appears to be 
as much exposed to injury as his neigh- 
bour, but there is all the difference. 
Neither bullet nor dagger can reach 
him ; he walks about impregnable, not 
even pin-pricks can hurt him. 

So the Christian moves invulnerable, 
whose heart is kept in the peace of 
8 


Shirt of 
chain-mail. 


98 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


God, born of personal knowledge of 
Him. He looks like other men, but 
he has an unseen defence keeping him 
safe in every danger. 

Observe, this never can make him 
callous or indifferent. No one sympa- 
thised like Christ. Was He callous 
or indifferent in Matt, xi., when, 
under the influence of the grossest 
calumnies (for which He could praise 
God), He extended His arms to a 
perishing world in the touching appeal 
of its closing verses ? 

^°m th A second effect (for I must be brief) 

knowledge 

°f cod. 0 f nearness to God is growth — beautiful, 
natural, harmonious growth, the simple 
result of being so near the light ; 
differing wholly from the frail, artificial 
products of doctrinal schools and spiritual 
hot-beds. 

These lines somewhat express the 
thought : — 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 99 

My inmost soul, O Lord, to Thee 

Leans like a growing flower 

Unto the light; I do not know 

The day nor blessed hour 

When that deep-rooted daring growth 

We call the heart’s desire 

Shall burst and blossom to a prayer. 


And yet my heart will sing 

Because thou seem’st sometimes so near, 

Close-present God, to me ; 

It seems I could not have a wish 
That was not shared by Thee. 

Anon . 1 

The character changes insensibly cKten 
because the graces acquired are un- 
conscious ; and not only so, but a new 
language altogether, the language of ,^|| e of 
heaven, is slowly learned and begins 
to be heard from our lips. It is not 
that we use religious phrases, or put 
on what are believed to be Christian 
graces, but that an inward growth of 

1 From “Let us Pray,” a pamphlet by Rev. 

W. H. Griffith Thomas (Partridge). 




100 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


spirit in nearness and likeness to God 
produces of itself changes which are 
not adopted by us consciously but are 
produced unconsciously. Things look 
different to us, and we find ourselves, as 
I have said, calling loss — gain, and pain — 
pleasure. Our standpoint with God has 
the effect of turning many things upside 
down and reversing the current standards 
of blessings and trials. The change, I 
repeat, is not outward, as in a volunteer 
who puts on a uniform but is a civilian 
at heart ; but inward, as of a regular 
soldier who in or out of uniform has a 
military spirit. 

JutiSbeLg. Another result of living with God, 
or, as it has been beautifully expressed, 
living in Tune with the Infinite , is 
harmony : — all discord ceases. Now, as 
Professor James has pointed out in his 
Giffard Lectures, this harmony is the 
very health of the man. As long as 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD ioi 


there is discord between any of the 
relations of any part of the man — body, 
soul, or spirit — or between the finite 
and Infinite, there is a depressing and 
unhealthy element. There can be no 
doubt that the peace and joy that fill 
the heart when God is known are partly 
due to the complete harmony of the 
whole being. 

This harmony produces a solidity, a 
steadiness in the whole life and conduct, 
and is, as I have said, a real source, not 
only of spiritual but absolutely of physical 
health. 

Another result is liberty . It is no 
longer an outward fence that keeps 
us from straying, which means bondage, 
but an inward attachment : where our 
treasure is there our heart is also ; and 
this is liberty. 

The question is no longer “ what,” 
but “why.” “What I do” and “what 


Effect on 
physical 
health. 


Liberty 
results 
from the 
knowledge 
of God. 


Amateur 

law-makers. 


A fence and 
a bridle for 
horses and 
mules. 


102 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

I say” refer to externals and outward 
appearance ; “why” refers to the 
spring, the life, the motive, the cha- 
racter. Where the Spirit of the Lord is , 
there is liberty. But that is just what 
many Christians do not like and do not 
understand. They much prefer law 
to grace. They like being given a list 
of things forbidden and a list of those 
permitted, and they run to one another 
for fresh laws and fresh prohibitions 
where the Word of God is silent. It 
is hard to say which gives them the 
greater pleasure, to lay down laws for 
other people or to have laws laid down 
by others for them. 

It is needless to say neither of these 
has anything to do with the liberty of the 
Spirit or with the life of freedom, guided 
and governed by the love of God. 

You see, it requires no spirituality or 
knowledge of God to keep within a 
fence beyond which one must not pass. 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 103 

That is being held in with bit and bridle . 

But to be absolutely free, guided with 
the eye , and only to do God’s will, to 
live in the power of a new life and 
nature, does indeed require the personal 
knowledge of God ; so that we may say, 
liberty and love characterise this per- 
sonal knowledge of which we speak, 
and law and bondage its absence. 

Again, this knowledge of God enables SSfeep 8 
us to keep time . What I mean by this 
can be understood by reference to a 
watch. Take out yours and look at it. 

What does 10.15 mean? Why does the 
watch say it is 10.15, and why is that 
the right time and what is the right time ? 

The right time is God’s time, and it 
takes the whole orderly movement of 
the mighty solar system to make it 
10.15 ; and your watch — being a good 
one — has so learned to move in harmony 
with God’s world that the two hands are 


104 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


What is the 
right time ? 


Christians 

and 

Waterbury 

watches. 


always found pointing out God’s time — 
the right time — at any and every moment 
day and night. Always in the right 
place at the right time, that is what 
God’s child who knows his Father 
learns to be. He keeps time — God’s 
time. He does not run before he is 
sent ; or stay when he should be gone. 
He is not like a cheap watch, ever too 
fast or too slow — he is a chronometer, 
one that you can take time from. Of 
course this is only in part. The only 
one who ever kept God’s time fully on 
earth was the Son of God. 

Some Christians are like an Ameri- 
can watch called “ Waterbury,” that 
requires a fearful amount of winding 
up. These people stop altogether, and 
keep no time at all unless they are 
for ever being wound up by meetings 
and services, and missions, and con- 
ventions. 

But I saw this year a clever invention 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 105 


— a self-winding watch, one that you 
may wear for twenty years, and it can’t 
run down, but is always wound up — 
it is self-winding; and the power that 
winds it is just the daily work and 
movement of the wearer. This causes 
a lever inside the case to swing back- 
wards and forwards, and so wind it 
up. In like manner the child who 
knows and loves his Heavenly Father 
needs no winding up. He is self- 
winding, and the power is the joy and 
love that flow into his heart from 
God. It is no question of effort ; it 
is spontaneous. 

Dealing as I do here with the 
Christian’s spiritual life at home with 
God, I touch on thoughts and feelings 
that are seldom spoken of, though 
often experienced. 

If a Christian, however, has not 
learned to occupy the double position 
of which I recently have spoken 


Self-winding 

watch. 


The 

Christian’s 

home-life. 


10 6 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Living in 
lodgings and 
at home. 


Pictureof 
man who 
lives with 
God. 


— that of being seated in Christ, at 
home with God, as well as that of 
living down here, he has none of these 
experiences, but has, as it were, to live 
“ in lodgings,” and always bears the 
stamp of his uncomfortable surround- 
ings. He looks spiritually unkempt 
and uncared for, and shows the effects 
of bad food and poor quarters in many 
ways. 

On the other hand, the Christian who 
is privileged to know (ytyvwo-Kw) God, 
and is thus at home with Him, soon 
shows it in his appearance. 

This has been beautifully described 
as follows in words which, as we read 
them, make us long that they were true 
in our own experience. 

When a man lives with God ’ his 
voice shall be as sweet as the murmur 
of the brook and the rustle of the corn . 
He will weave no longer a spotted life of 
shreds and patches , but he will live with 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 107 


a Divine unity . He will cease from 
what is base and frivolous in his life , 
and be content with all places and any 
service he can reach . He will calmly 
front the morrow in the negligency of 
that trust which carries God with it , 
and so has the whole future in the 
bottom of his heart . 

Such is the language of a modern 
observer. But a more wonderful ac- 
count of the change that the knowledge 
of God makes comes from one of the 
greatest of these early feelers after God, 
who sought after Him (though unknown) 
that He might find Him, and who, I am 
persuaded, did in some way reach Him 
and touch Him. 

In the “ Phaedrus ” of Plato 1 Socrates, 
sitting under a palm-tree on the banks 
of the Ilyssus just outside Athens, thus 

1 “Plato: Works of.” Tr. Henry Carey, 1848; 
text, Stallbaum. Vol. i. “ Phaedrus,” sec. 63, 
pp. 326, 329. 


Socrates 
in the 
“ Phaedrus 
of Plato. 


io8 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Thoughts 

God. 


The soul 
and its 
wings. 


speaks of God to his young friend 
Phaedrus : — 

They endeavour to discern of them- 
selves the nature of God \ and when they 
grasp Him with their memory — being 
inspired by Him — they receive from 
Him their manners and pursuits, as 
far as it is possible for man to partici- 
pate of God. 

Just consider this marvellous sentence, 
written over two thousand years ago. 
Contact with God so alters us, says 
Socrates, that we receive from Him our 
manners and pursuits. 

“ Our manners ” — are they in very 
deed received from God, and are all 
our pursuits ordered by Him? 

Socrates looks at the soul as having 
lived in the presence of God before 
entering the body, and goes on to say : 
Any one who is reminded of the True , 
begins to recover his wings , and having 
recovered them , longs to soar aloft ; but 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 109 


being unable to do so, looks upward 
like a bird (we all understand this 
exquisite simile, so true to nature), and 
despising things below, is deemed affected 
with madness (as indeed Socrates was 
himself). 

When they see any resemblance of 
things there (in heaven) they are amazed, 
and no longer masters of themselves (re- 
membering) when they beheld in the pure 
light — perfect, simple, calm, and blessed 
visions, unmasked (unhampered) with 
this which we now carry about with us 
and call the body, tethered to it like an The oyster 
oyster to its shell. 

I wonder what my readers think of 
the depth of understanding displayed 
by these old philosophers — to whom 
was vouchsafed no light of revelation 
— as they speak of the effects of the 
knowledge of God in the human 
soul, in language that is almost that 
of an eye-witness. To me it is mar- 


no THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOO 


Character 
changed in 
seven ways. 


vellous ; and one is ashamed to think 
how little of this sort of knowledge 
is ours, with all our Christian training 
and spiritual light. 

Earlier still, Sophocles pointed out 
that the power of a God is shown 
by producing content in the heart, 
which at the same time He conquers . 1 

And lastly, we may add that the very 
thoughts are changed by contact with 
God, and words are used in a new and 
strange sense. 

So we may say that the knowledge 
of God changes the character, the per- 
sonality, in at least seven ways. 

The mind , , as Socrates shows, is 
changed ; the desires are changed so 
that by some he “is accounted 
mad.” The manners and pursuits , 
too, are changed by nearness to God, 
according to this same wise philosopher. 
One becomes “ content ,” moreover, as 
1 See chap. iii. p. 55. 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD hi 


Sophocles points out, and the heart and 
will are conquered. Furthermore our 
thoughts are changed, and we attach a 
new meaning to our words. 

Let us take these seven points briefly 
in order. 

The mind is changed. Consider one 
point with regard to this in the light 
of psychology, wireless telegraphy, and 
modern experiments in telepathy or 
thought - transference, which is the 
power, the unconscious power, of one 
mind over another. 

Some years ago, in the course of a 
sermon, I heard one sentence that I 
shall never forget. It is this : The 
mind casts a shadow just like the body. 

This is absolutely true, as we all 
know. As we pass through this world 
our mind, our personality, unknown to 
ourselves, and without an effort or 
desire, is ever casting shadows for good 
or evil on all whom we meet. Some 


r. The mind 
is changed. 


The mind 
casts a 
shadow. 


1 12 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Our minds 
are like 
ferments. 


Starch 
changed 
into sugar. 


move through the world as life-giving 
ozone ; diffusing light, and good, and 
health wherever they go. Others are 
as an infectious miasma, and spread 
darkness, sin, and sickness around 
them. 

Our minds are like ferments. A fer- 
ment is a body which, without under- 
going any change itself, is able, even in 
minute quantities, to effect a radical and 
permanent change in other bodies with 
which it is brought in contact ; as, for 
instance, the ferment in the saliva 
changes starch into sugar. 

You will find persons with this power. 
A room may be full of starchy, stiff 
people, and the presence of one warm 
and loving nature may have power to 
change the whole atmosphere, and the 
starch will dissolve before it into sugar. 

In view of this unconscious power of 
one mind over another, let us now con- 
sider what it means for one who is in 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 113 


contact with God to touch others ; thus 
forming instantaneously a line of com- 
munication with the Divine. 

Such an one necessarily becomes, 
though it may be in very small measure, 
the unconscious channel through which 
God passes into the hearts of those 
around him. No one can possibly come 
in contact with one who knows (ytyvwa-Kw) 
God without being the better for it. 

We therefore reach this glorious, this 
delightful truth : that you cannot be 
blessed yourself without becoming a 
blessing to others. 

You cannot live with the peace of a 
heavenly home in your heart of hearts, 
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus , 
without radiating the glories of that 
home, like rays of light and heat — with- 
out effort and often without conscious- 
ness on your part. Virtue goes out of 
you, though you may not know it. No 
work, therefore, that a Christian may 


To know 
God is to be 
a blessing. 


Virtue goes 
out un- 
consciously. 


9 


1 14 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


2. The 
desires are 
changed. 


Not “what," 
but “ why." 


“ Giving 
up ’’ is no 

use 


carry on can be compared in power 
and in value to others with a life in 
personal touch with God. 

The desires are changed. This is one 
of the most remarkable results of the 
knowledge of God. Without effort, 
imperceptibly and unconsciously, the de- 
sires, the likes and dislikes, are changed ; 
and of course the habits and pursuits 
of life are altered in consequence. 

Now this is the right, the Christian 
order ; all else is artificial and human. 
Once again it is a question not of what , 
but why. 

To alter habits and pursuits as long 
as desires are unchanged does positive 
harm, in my opinion : no progress is 
made by it, no results gained. 

One hears perpetually on every side 
such questions as — “ Is this or that 
right or wrong ? ” “ Should I ‘ give 

up’ dancing, plays, cards, and what 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 115 


not?” Now all this is a mistake, all 
unspiritual. What use is it to “ give 
up ” with unaltered desires, and play 
the hypocrite ? 

No, the true way, the way of Rom. 
xii. 2, is to effect the change by the 
transformation of the spirit ; and this 
involves no “giving up .” 1 The very 
expression condemns the act. Draw 
near to God, learn to know ( ) 
Him, and the result is the desires are 
changed, and in consequence the pur- 
suits alter ; but there is no giving up — 
no loss — only gain. Oh ! to learn this 
more excellent way ! 

The next result, according to So- 
crates, is, the manners are changed. 
What knowledge this remark reveals 
of the power of God ! One would 

1 I had come in contact with the Great Healer ; 
I had got a view of One on Whom it is impossible to 
look without experiencing transformation of soul. 
(Joseph Barker, late Infidel Lecturer.) 


3- The 
manners 
are changed. 


ii 6 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


The 

manners of 
a friend of 
God. 


Sweet 

reasonable- 

ness. 


think it must be the language of an eye- 
witness rather than that of intuition. 

The manners are changed ! I wonder 
what sort of “ manners ” Enoch’s be- 
came. Perhaps we can picture in some 
measure what the manners of a man 
who walked with God for three hundred 
years would be like, if we closely 
analyse the ways of the Son of God 
on earth. The combination of absolute 
transparent simplicity with unassumed 
and therefore natural dignity ; the 
sweetness of the reflection of perfect 
love, with the truth and sincerity of 
perfect wisdom ; the outward grace and 
courtesy, the inward peace and calm 
( ohne hast , ohne rast\ the sweet 
reasonableness of the true Christian 
character, would all be seen in these 
God-given manners. To learn one’s 
manners in court circles is much ; but 
to bear unconsciously in one’s words 
and ways something, however little, 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 117 


of the stamp of the Divine is most 
wonderful. 

The pursuits are changed. This J'JsuL are 

changed. 

rightly follows, as we have seen, the 
change of desire. If it precedes it, it 
is useless, it is artificial, it is a denial of 
the method of Christianity, which ever 
works from within, outwards. But the 
pursuits are changed, and changed by 
the knowledge of God. One is just 
as keen, but keen after different objects. 

Man and God have changed places. 

Before — man loomed large in the fore- 
ground, and God was small and dim 
in the far perspective. Now — He fills 
the vision, and man shrinks to his right 
proportions. Hence, with the new stand- 
point, the necessary change of pursuits. 

The heart is content. This is what 
“ all the worlds a seeking,” and can content ' 
never find. Observe this ineffable peace 


1 18 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


The sight 
of God 
changes all. 


6, The 
man is 
conquered. 


and calm steals in upon the soul the 
moment my eyes rested on Him . 

Now mine eye seeth thee , wherefore I 
abhor myself, and repent in dust and 
ashes (Job xlii. 6). Abhorrence of self 
and deep repentance may be the first 
immediate effect of the sight of God ; 
but the abiding and positive result in the 
soul to which the other is the negative 
is best expressed by the word “ content.” 
Content is harmony, is health, is holi- 
ness, is wholeness. 

The next result closely follows — one 
is conquered, as Sophocles shows, by 
the mere realized presence of God. 
There is no battle, no strife. There is 
much, very much, conflict, doubtless, in 
the Christian’s experience, as the seventh 
of Romans so graphically depicts : there 
is war in my members ; the flesh lusteth 
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against 
the flesh (Gal v, 17). But this goq- 


THE LIFE OF GOD’S CHILD 119 


quering of which we speak is emphatic- 
ally not the result of successful battle, 
but rather of the sudden presence of 
such overwhelming forces in the soul, 
that no battle is ever possible. The 
word, or even the presence alone, was 
sufficient for Iole before Hercules : 
how much more for the soul of man 
before the living God ! 

The reason our evil natures and fleshly 
desires make such a strong fight within 
is simply because God is not thus 
known (yiyvuaicuy Hence I strive in 
this book with much insistence and no 
little reiteration to describe and illustrate 
the power and value of this knowledge. 

When our eyes behold God, truly it 
is love that conquers (Amor, not labor, 
omnia vincit\ Love not constrained 
nor forced ; but love spontaneous. 
Love that leaps forth like the steel to 
the magnet, the moment the overwhelm- 
ing power gf God is felt and known, 


No battle Is 
possible. 


No fight 
where God 
is known. 


120 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


7. The 
thoughts are 
changed. 


God the 
new centre 
of thought. 


Lastly, the thoughts are changed. We 
spoke of the change of language, the 
outcome of this changed thought, in the 
last chapter. Here we touch the spring. 
It is absolutely no longer possible to 
think of God in the inmost soul save 
with deepest reverence and love. Never 
more would it occur to one to be daring 
enough to explain or defend, still less to 
question, one of His actions. 

To me at least, if I thus know Him, 
He is all- wise ; to me at least He is 
all love. And beyond this He is my 
Father, and I am His child ; and this 
affects every thought I think as well as 
every word I utter ; for it is emphatically 
the central truth of my life — the pivot 
round which my existence revolves. 

Much, much more might be said on 
the life of God’s child, of which we 
have merely here just taken up one or 
two salient features. 


THE WALK OF GOD’S CHILD 




God’s glory is a wondrous thing, 

Most strange in all its ways ; 

And, of all things on earth, least like 
What men agree to praise. 

As He can endless glory weave 
From what men reckon shame, 

In His own world He is content 
To play a losing game. 

God’s justice is a bed, where we 
Our anxious hearts may lay, 

And, weary with ourselves, may sleep 
Our discontent away. 

For right is right, since God is God ; 

And right the day must win ; 

To doubt would be disloyalty; 

To falter would be sin. 


F. W. Faber. 


CHAPTER V 


THE WALK OF GOD’S CHILD 

I GAVE in the last chapter what 
I judge to be the effect on a 
human soul of the known presence of 
God now ; but the mind still turns back 
with wonder and with awe to that dim 
dawn of the world when, with hardly a 
ray of the knowledge we possess and 
use, a man walked with God for three 
hundred years. We long to know 
more about his walk ; to understand his 
thoughts and feelings. 

It may be that a study of the life of 
Enoch — the man who walked with God 


The dim 
light of 
Enoch’s 
world. 


The 

thoughts of 
Enoch. 


The man 
who walked 
with Go4/ 


124 THE knowledge of god 


— will help us here. The notices about 
Enoch are not many, but they are 
significant. 

Enoch lived sixty-five years , and begat 
Methuselah : and Enoch walked with 
God after he begat Methuselah three 
hundred years, 1 And Enoch walked 
with God: and he was not ; for God 
took him (Gen. v. 21-24). 

By faith Enoch was translated that 
he should not see death ; and was not 
found \ because God had translated him : 
for before his translation he had this 
testimony , that he pleased God (Heb. 
xi. 5). 

And Enoch also , the seventh from 
Adam } prophesied of these , saying , Be- 
hold, the Lord cometh with ten thou - 
sands of his saints (Jude 14)^ 

1 Methuselah is said to mean when he is dead 
it shall be sent , and the flood came the day he 
died. It is possible that it was some intimation 
of the flood at Methuselah’s birth that changed 
Enoch’s character and made him walk with God, 


THE WALK OF GOD’S CHILD 125 

This is all — but it is more than has 
ever been said of any man since, and 
Enoch was only the seventh from Adam. 

For three hundred years Enoch 
walked with God day by day, and 
before his translation he had this testi- 
mony , that he pleased God \ i.e., at 
the close of his life ; which was, I judge, 
essentially a private one, and not a 
public one like Noahs. 

We find this idea of pleasing God 
in the New Testament, at the baptism 
of our Lord, where on coming out of 
the water He heard these words from 
His Father, This is my beloved Son , 
in whom I am well pleased. 

The occasion when this testimony 
was given is remarkable. Jesus had 
as yet done no mighty works, spoken 
no gracious words as far as we know. 
His life for man had hardly begun ; 
He stood on the threshold of His public 
life, and He had just concluded thirty 


Enoch 
pleased God 


Testimony 
to Christ. 


126 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


years of humble, private, industrious 

Private Hfe life at Nazareth. This life is not re- 

at Nazareth. 

corded for us by the evangelists, though 
we have no reason to suppose that, 
seeing Mark wrote about forty years 
after Christs death, there would be 
any real difficulty in obtaining par- 
ticulars about it. But the Holy Spirit 
has dropped a veil over it which we 
cannot now penetrate, for this life was 
wholly for God. 

why God When the Father, therefore, at the 

spoke at 

baptism. junction of Christs private and public 
life opened the heavens to express 
His approval of His Son, may not 
the reason be other than is generally 
supposed ? The popular explanation is 
that it was the expression of the Father’s 
approval in His Son on His taking the 
lowly place of identification with a faith- 
ful remnant of the nation in baptism. 
But surely there was more than this. 

I venture, therefore, to suggest that 


THE WALK OF GOD’S CHILD 127 

this well pleased referred to the part J5“[ t c c 5{2 
of the life of Christ already completed 
— that is, to the private life that 
had been lived for so long at home, 
and not to that public life which was 
still to come. This is the only passage 
which shows us what those thirty years 
were to God. And the same God takes 
care still that the private lives of His 
children shall not want His public 
approval. The honours and rewards 
with which God will distinguish private 
lives utterly unknown on earth will, I 
think, be one of the surprises of heaven. 

We know nothing of Enoch’s three 
hundred years of private life except this 
— that he had this testimony , that he 
pleased 1 God: but it is enough. 

1 The discrimination of the approval is fore- 
shadowed in Rom. xvi., where we find such 
shades of difference in a Christian’s life noted 
as bestowed much labour , of note , helper , approved 
labour , labour much , chosen. Respecting Phoebe, 
notice she is described as sister, servant, saint, 
and succourer, 


128 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Tablet at 
Victoria 
University. 


Christians 
can please 
God. 


What was possible for him is an 
object of earnest ambition to us. 

On the wall of the great staircase in 
the Victoria University at Manchester 
is a solitary marble tablet to the 
memory of one, who died as a 
pioneer in the mission-field, and at the 
base of it are these words in Greek : 
Wherefore we labour , that whether 
present or absent , we may be accepted 
of (lit., well - pleasing 1 to) him 
(2 Cor. v. 9). The same word that is 
used for Enoch is the ambition of 
St. Paul and of all who have since 
followed in his steps. 

The Father, then, not only finds 
delight in His only begotten Son, but 
in the many sons who have walked with 

1 These two words, well pleasing, are evapeoroe, 
a private expression of great pleasure ; that used 
at Christ’s baptism is evSoKew, a word of more 
public character, in keeping with the occasion, and 
meaning approbation. 


THE WALK OF GOD’S CHILD 129 


Him before and since. How, then, was 
this testimony made known to Enoch? 

I think that an inward consciousness of 
God’s favour was given to him. 

Do we not all remember when we SSSfeS 11 * 
were children at home, the vivid sense favour, 
we had and the joy it gave us, when we 
felt, without any words being spoken on 
either side, that our parents were well 
pleased with us? How the knowledge 
sent us skipping and singing, light- 
footed and light-hearted about the 
house ? 

So it is in the heavenly family. 

There is a consciousness of being well- 
pleasing to God that gives no occasion 
for pride, but that affords perhaps the 
purest delight the human soul can 
know. 

In what, then, did this walk with God omsXS 
of Enoch’s consist ? 

Not, certainly, in head-knowledge, for 
he had none. There was no Bible, no 


10 


130 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Christianity, no revealed Father, and 
yet, and yet — what a life! It consisted 
in the personal knowledge of God as 
his Friend, and his nearest and best- 
known Friend too, with whom he was 
always to be found wherever one came 
across him during three hundred years, 
waurin* This is the real inner meaning of a 
means. walk with God : God nearer and dearer 
than anything or any one else in heaven 
or on earth, and as near in the market- 
place and counting-house as in the study 
or in church. Let us grasp well this 
idea, and consider quietly what it means, 
and then we can glance at its effects on 
life and conduct. 

it is easy for How easy it is now for us to walk 
w,thGod - with a God fully revealed to us in His 
love in the gift of His Son, in His 
wisdom, in the knowledge we now have 
of His glorious creation : all of which 
was hidden from Enoch ! The more 
we ponder over this the more are we 


THE WALK OF GOD’S CHILD 131 

amazed at two wonders — that Enoch 
should live so near, and we so far from 
God. 

What would we not give to have 
known Enoch and learned what walking 
with God really meant to him? What 
that constant intercourse was ; how it 
affected him ; and how it was maintained ? 

Wonderful to say, although we can 
never hope to learn this on earth, we 
have had handed down to us by a 
Cardinal Beaufort in France the real 
thoughts and experiences of one who 
for sixty years walked with God. He nJSoSm 

. T . . Herman. 

was a poor peasant in Lorraine in France, 
and his name was Nicholas Herman. 

He was a footman, and at eighteen 
years of age he was converted to God. 
Desiring to consecrate his life, he entered, 
as a humble lay brother or servitor, the 
monastery of the bare-footed Carmelites 
in Paris in 1666, and remained there as 
cook and servant for the whole sixty 
years. 


132 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


His thoughts 
of God. 


How to go 
to God. 


At his feet we may now sit to try 
and learn what the knowledge of 
God really means, for in him we see 
how God hath chosen the foolish things 
of the world to confound the wise , and 
God hath chosen the weak things of the 
world to confound the things which are 
mighty , and base things of the world and 
things which are despised hath God 
chosen , yea } and things which are not , 
to bring to nought things that are 
(i Cor. i. 27, 28). 

Here are a few of his thoughts that 
have come down to us, followed by 
some remarks by his biographer. 

He says : There needs neither art 
nor science for going to God \ but only a 
heart resolutely determined to apply itself 
to nothing but for Him , and for His sake. 

We ought not to be weary of doing 
little things for the love of God. 

All things are possible to him that 
believeth. All things are easy to him 


THE WALK OF GOD’S CHILD 133 


that hopeth . All things are easier 
to him that loveth. All things are 
easiest to him that practises these 
three virtues . 

To form a habit of conversing with 
God continually we must at first apply wlthGod ' 
to Him with some diligence , but after a 
time , we should find His love inwardly 
incite us to it without difficulty . 

We ought to live with God with the H .°wtoiive 
greatest simplicity ; speaking to Him 
frankly and plainly and imploring His 
assistance in our affairs , just as they 
happen . 

There is not in the world a kind of 
life more sweet and delightful than that 
of a continual conversation with God, 

It is not necessary for being with God 
to be always at church : we may make 
an oratory in our heart , wherein to re- 
tire from time to time to converse with 
Him in meekness , humility , and love . 

When we come to love God \ we shall 


134 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


then also think of Him often ; for our 
hearts will be with our treasure . 

“When the appointed times of prayers 
were passed he found no difference, 
because he still continued with God, 
praising and blessing Him, with all his 
might, so that he passed his life in con- 
tinual joy ; yet hoped that God would 
give him somewhat to suffer, when he 
should grow stronger.” 

“ He was never hasty nor loitering ; 
but did each thing in season, with an 
even, uninterrupted composure and 
tranquillity of spirit.” 

“He was lately sent into Burgundy 
to buy wine for the society, which was a 
very unwelcome task for him because he 
was lame and could not go about the 
bout but by rolling himself over the 
casks. But he gave himself no uneasi- 
ness, for he said to God, it was His 
business he was about, and that he 
found it very well performed/’ 


THE WALK OF GOD’S CHILD 135 


“In the kitchen, having accustomed 
himself to do everything for the love of 
God, he found everything easy during 
fifteen years he had been employed 
there.” 

“He was always pleasing himself in 
every condition by doing little things 
for the love of God.” 

“ He was more united to God in his 
outward employments than when he left 
them for devotion in retirement.” 

“The time of business does not 
differ with him from the time of 
prayer ; and in the noise and clatter 
of his kitchen, while several persons 
are at the same time calling for different 
things, he possessed God in as great 
tranquillity as if he were on his knees 
at the blessed Sacrament.” 

“He began to live as if there were 
none but God and he in the world.” 

“ He walked before God simply in 
faith with humility and with !qv$ ; and 


The kitchen 
the gate of 
heaven. 


How to 
walk before 
God. 


136 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


How to be 

always 

happy. 


he applied himself diligently to do 
nothing and to think nothing which 
might displease Him.” 

“ He had an habitual silent and 
secret conversation of the soul with 
God, which caused in him so great 
joys and rapture that he was forced 
to use means to moderate them.” 

“He was assured beyond all doubt 
that his soul had been with God always 
these thirty years.” 

“He was always happy : all the 
world suffered ; and he who deserved 
the severest discipline felt joys so con- 
tinually and so great that he could 
scarce contain them.” 

“A week before his death he said, 
I hope from God's mercy the favour to 
see Him within a few days” 

None can, I think, read these few 
detached utterances without feeling that 
they bear a special mark of a close 
and continual walk with God. 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 


I know not what it is to doubt; 

My heart is ever gay ; 

I run no risk, for come what will 
Thou always hast Thy way. 

I have no cares, O blessed Will ! 

For all my cares are Thine ; 

I live in triumph, Lord ! for Thou 
Hast made Thy triumphs mine. 

And when it seems no chance or change 
From grief can set me free, 

Hope finds its strength in helplessness, 
And gaily waits on Thee. 

He always wins who sides with God, 

To him no chance is lost ; 

God’s will is sweetest to him when 
It triumphs at his cost. 

Ill that He blesses is our good. 

And unblessed good is ill ; 

And all is right that seems most wrong, 
If it be His sweet will. 


F. W. Faber. 


CHAPTER VI 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 

T HE time of adversity, of trial, of 
sickness has ever been a time of 
drawing near to God ; and yet it is 
strange how far in reality many great 
sufferers are from Him. Let us look 
for a moment at God s school of suffer- 
ing as described in Rom. v. 2-5. 
Mark the words : Let us rejoice in 
hope of the glory of God . And not 
only so, but let us also rejoice in our 
tribulations ; (crushings to free the 
grain from the husk, like threshing) 
knowing that tribulation worketh (out) 
patience; (patient endurance) and patience } 
*39 


The school 
of suffering. 


140 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


An almost 
impossible 
injunction. 


Current 
ideas of 
conduct in 
suffering. 


probation : (a proved character, like 
tempered steel) and probation , hope : 
and hope putteth not to shame; (will 
not humiliate us) because the love of 
God hath been shed abroad (poured 
out) in our hearts through the Holy 
Ghost which was given unto us. 

We first note an almost impossible 
injunction, that we are to rejoice in 
the hard lessons set us in God’s school 
in the same way and measure as we 
rejoice when we look forward to heaven 
and the glory of God. 

It will at once be seen how utterly 
the conventional Christian standard of 
right conduct in suffering falls short of 
this exhortation ; for the former at the 
most enjoins an attitude of patience, 
submission, and resignation in view of 
final relief and the joy of heaven by 
and by. 

To be told to rejoice in present 
suffering and that the joy is of the 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 141 

same character that will be felt in 
heaven hereafter is too much for most 
to understand. Yet all can plainly see 
the absurdity of talking of being resigned 
in hope of the glory of God , which 
sounds as unreasonable in most Chris- 
tian ears as rejoicing in tribulations . 

St. Paul, for a very definite reason, 
uses the same word in each case, and 
we shall never grasp God’s idea of 
suffering until we do too. 

Few things show how far our 
thoughts as Christians are from God’s 
as this passage does, which seems to run 
absolutely counter to many of our most 
“ pious ” and cherished ideas. 

There must be some deep-seated 
reason for such a divergence in our 
views from Scriptural thought, which 
is perhaps to be found in our failure 
to understand the real nature of 
tribulation. It is not merely, as 
the etymology of the word in Greek 


Same joy in 
heaven as in 
suffering. 


Our 

thoughts 
are not 
God’s 
thoughts 


142 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Various 
ways of 
rejoicing. 


implies, the freeing of the grain from 
the husk — which is only the negative 
side of the process — it is more than 
this. The positive result is that we 
are educated by these means in a way 
impossible by any other method . 1 

I wonder, if we consider the subject 
for a few moments, whether we shall 
arrive at any clearer ideas on it. 

There are various ways of rejoicing 
in tribulation. 

One way is the result of the personal 
knowledge of God, so that His wisdom 
and love are so vividly felt and known 
in the soul that it is our greatest joy 
to do His will, and we rejoice in being 
under His hand, the tribulation itself 
being made sweet to us by reason of 

1 It must not be supposed for a moment that 
all the lessons of God’s school are those of 
tribulation. The temptations inseparable from 
prosperity and the discipline of riches are often 
as hard to learn and to bear to the glory of God 
as those of adversity or poverty. 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 143 

the sunshine of God’s love shed abroad 
in our hearts. Tribulation can thus 
become, and I have seen and known 
it to become, a period of intense enjoy- 
ment of the same nature as the enjoy- 
ment of heaven (as Rom. v. shows), 
because the joy in both lies in a 
conscious nearness to God. 

True Christians, it seems to me, are 
of three qualities, which are revealed 
by the different ways in which tribula- 
tions are borne. 

The first seem made of lead : they 
murmur and repine and find fault with 
God in trial, even if they do not lose 
their trust in Him altogether. 

The second are as silver : in tribu- 
lation they show patience and resigna- 
tion, giving no utterance to impatient or 
rebellious thoughts though often sorely 
tried, and tempted to do so. 

The third come forth as gold : they 
rejoice so truly and unaffectedly in their 


Three 
qualities of 
Christians. 


Lead, silver, 
and gold. 


144 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

tribulation that friends who come to 
pity, stay to learn their secret. 

These, even in their sufferings, have 
hearts at leisure from themselves , to 
soothe and sympathise with others. 
They do not ask for comforters, but for 
sharers in their joy. They do not want 
to be told of the delights of heaven, for 
character 0 * in spirit they are in heaven now. They 
are slow and careful even in praying for 
relief from their sufferings ; feeling it 
often wiser and better to leave the 
matter in the hands of the Father they 
know so well, and trust so fully, whose 
wisdom is as great as His love. 
gom in the I have seen these golden ones in 

furnace. 

trial ; and all I can say as a matter of 
sober personal experience is that the 
light in which they live is dazzling : 
they represent, wholly unconsciously — 
the sublime in suffering. 

One or two things strike me about 
them. There is a marked absence of 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 145 


current pious expressions common to 
tried Christians. There is a natural- 
ness and a simplicity, and a clearly 
unaffected and unforced joyfulness, that 
to an ordinary man certainly would 
seem out of place. 

You go to see these sufferers, as 
I have said, prepared to condole with 
them, to exhort them to a patient trust, 
and to try and cheer them ; and before 
you have been with them five minutes 
you are dumb, and know not what to 
say, and hardly what to think, for you 
are certainly face to face with a miracle. 
You see before you the finger of God ; 
with them you are consciously in His 
presence, and you discern in these 
sufferers a faith that does remove moun- 
tains , and calls things that are not as 
though they were . Your little efforts 
of comfort and little words of sympathy 
die on your lips in presence of the great 
joy before you. 


No 

condolence 

needed. 


II 


146 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Incan- 
descent 
light in 
suffering. 


Trust is not 
knowledge. 


Intelligence 
in God’s 
ways. 


It is marvellous, but so simple! Just 
as a tiny carbon filament, smaller than 
a hair, can flood a room with incan- 
descent light when in touch with the 
storage battery, so does the feeblest 
and least-taught Christian, when in 
touch with God, illumine all around. 
But the contact must be real, must be 
vital. 

I will not here say more on this form 
of rejoicing, though one could write 
chapters on it, but proceed to speak of 
another variety. 

That of which I have spoken depends 
on the knowledge of God Himself, but 
upon nothing else. That of which 
I now speak is the result of a know- 
ledge of His purpose in the suffering ; 
and is not only the result of perfect 
trust, but of spiritual intelligence. The 
one often leads to the other. The 
sufferer who knows his Father, and 
who cannot, therefore, do less than 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 147 


trust Him fully, is soon taught more. 
Suffering Gods will and rejoicing in 
it, he is soon instructed into what he 
does not ask for — the why and where- 
fore of these lessons in the school of 
God. 

Attentive study of some wonderful 
verses in that most marvellous of all 
epistles, the Ephesians, reveals to us 
an exalted destiny for which our hymns 
and current thoughts but little pre- 
pare us. 

If we carefully consider the exact The destiny 
language of Eph. i. 4, 6, 10, 12, Shristians - 
18-23; ii. 7; and iii. 10, 11, 20, 21, 
we can come to no other conclusion 
than that Christians are predestined 
throughout eternity, unto the ages of 
ages , to be the exponents to all intelli- 
gences and powers in all the universe, 
of the love and wisdom of Almighty 
God. When to this we add from the ®g and 
Revelation that our position is to be 


148 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Great 
training 
for high 
destinies. 


Sufferings 
for our o' 
good. 


that of rulers rather than of subjects, we 
shall understand the difference between 
our real future and the conventional 
ideas of Heaven. 

For such a high and holy destiny 
great training is required, and if earth 
be indeed the School of God, and not, 
as some fondly imagine, our home, then 
our educational training is here and 
now, and is carried on largely by means 
of various tribulations. 

Now, though a real nearness to 
God enables us to rejoice in all His 
dealings without any knowledge of their 
purpose, it is an added blessing to be 
able to understand them, and gives 3, 
yet deeper tone to our praise. 

The fact is our sufferings are for our 
own good, not God’s : they are for our 
sake, not His. It is we who benefit, 
not He ; and we should be very grate- 
ful for them. They are to fit us for the 
future ; they are to refine our characters ; 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 149 


to strengthen our trust in God ; to give 
us present experience and reliance in 
His perfect love and wisdom, so that we 
may be better exponents of it to others. 

All this and more is wrapped up in the 
tribulation ; and the moment we see 
this it alters its aspect and becomes 
easy to bear. 

Some time ago I had two nurses story of two 

o nurses. 

taking care of a very troublesome case, 
where the patient was most trying. 

They came to me saying they could 
not bear it, and must give notice. 

I pointed out to them that the patient 
was educating them, and that so far 
from grumbling, such a training was 
well worth their paying for. I told 
them that if they could stand it, they 
would reap the benefit throughout life 
— they would be tempered, \ and nothing 
would be too hard for them again. 

They saw my meaning, took up the 
work again from a different point of 


ISO THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


The 

standpoint 
is every- 
thing. 


The value of 
true insight. 


view, viz., that of their own education, 
and from that time they would feel 
quite disappointed when the patient was 
sweet-tempered, for there were no 
lessons that day. They never grumbled, 
nor even felt “ resigned” again. 

The standpoint is all-important in 
tribulations, and here, then, comes in 
the value of an intelligent perception 
of God’s dealings. When once we 
know and realize that the sufferings 
of earth form part of a complete and 
comprehensive training for a future so 
great and glorious that neither language 
nor thought can comprehend it, they 
seem, in the language of Scripture, as 
a light affliction , which is but for a 
mo7nent , which wovketh for us a far 
more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory . Thus, though it is true that, 
without knowing more, some rejoice in 
suffering, for God can lead His blind 
children by a way that they know not , 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 151 


the insight into God’s ways of which 
I have spoken, the understanding of 
our high and holy calling, alone 
give to tribulation its true meaning. 

Some thus increase in the knowledge 
of God (Col. i. 10) ; though of others it 
is true that they that know thy name 
put their trust in thee (Psa. ix. 10). 

Tribulations thus rejoiced in bring 
their sure and blessed fruits — patience, tnbulatlon - 
“ tempering,” hope, and a heart over- 
flowing with the love of God, which 
is absolutely poured into it without 
measure. It seems to me no words 
can tell how he is to be envied who 
thus knows God. 

One point may be touched on here ™ e dnessof 
that is perhaps a difficulty to many, womes. 
They are able, maybe, to rejoice in 
great afflictions and in tribulations that 
are of sufficient magnitude to excite 
the pity of others and to exalt them- 
selves to the rank of real sufferers 


152 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


But what they find impossible is to 
rejoice in pin-pricks, in daily worries, 
in drudgery, in injustices done to 
them, in neglect (not directly for 
Christ’s sake), in misunderstanding, in 
slight but continuous physical pain, in 
little ailments, in bad servants, in small 
disappointments. It is these that try 
the Christian’s patience : they seem too 
petty to be called tribulations, and yet 
tend to produce complaints and sour the 
temper, and silence praise often more 
than the deeper waters of suffering. 

The defence The resource here has been touched 

against 

smaii ins. on j n earlier chapters. It is to have 

the heart absolutely garrisoned by 
God’s peace, to take a firmer clasp of 
the Father’s hand, to look up into His 
face, and let His love be shed abroad 
over the whole heart, so that it is really 
carried through and above these minor 
troubles by the strong vitality and 
energy of the spiritual life ; and all 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 153 

the time to have the consciousness that, 
however little meaning these worries 
have to us, there is not one but can be 
a blessing and a lesson to us — taken in 
a spirit resting on God. 

There is still another sort of suffer- Bearing the 

suffering of 

ing, where the blow does not primarily 
fall upon oneself at all, but on some 
loved one : where the husband, wife, 
mother, father, sister, brother, son or 
daughter has to bear pain and 
sorrow. Here God again is the only 
resource ; but the “ rejoicing ” is not of 
the same nature. Rom. v. 3 certainly 
refers to our own tribulations, not to 
those of others. Here, then, we have 
the deepest sympathy, and truly weep 
with them that weep ; but though we 
may even in agony bear in sympathy 
their sufferings, there yet remains a 
deep peace and calm, from the un- 
quenchable conviction that the true 
knowledge of God ever brings, that all, 


154 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


even this, is love, and nothing but love. 
Even for ones dearest it is possible to 
say in the deepest waters, “All is well.” 


But the question may be raised, 
as to how far this tribulation may 
include bodily sickness ? On this point 
there is often a sharp divergence of 
opinion. 

Do es There are many who see in sickness 

suffering ' 

lacko/ rom only the result of lack of faith in God, 
and consider that the life of Christ in 
our mortal bodies should and will keep 
us free from all ailments of every sort. 

To my knowledge, these extreme 
views have had truly disastrous results. 
Humble and trusting Christians afflicted 
with incurable diseases have had this 
doctrine pressed upon them, and sup- 
ported by quotation of the text in Matt, 
viii. 17 — Himself took our infirmities , 
and bare our sicknesses. Such teaching 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 155 


takes away all blessing and comfort 
from the Christians sick-bed, and 
brands the sufferer with unbelief, de- 
claring all sickness to be the result of 
want of faith, and condemns a person 
for being ill just as much as for sinning. 

That this is the reverse of the appli- 
cation of the sentence from Isaiah by 
the writer of the Gospel is evident when 
we consider that St. Matthew expressly 
says that this prophecy was fulfilled 
there and then — in our Lords lifetime, 
and not in His death. There is no 
reference to any atonement for these 
sicknesses, which to me is a most un- 
scriptural and incongruous idea. We 
find the fulfilment of these words in 
His perfect human sympathy with every 
sufferer He healed. The same passage 
(Isa. liii. 4) is quoted by St. Peter 
(1 Pet. ii. 24) in its direct application 
to sin, not a word being said there 
about sickness. The two texts show 


Evils of the 

doctrine 

when 

unduly 

pressed. 


Christ bore 
our 

sicknesses 
in His life. 


156 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

that Christ bore our sicknesses and 
sufferings in His lifetime, our sins in 
His death. 

The logical deduction of this dog- 
matic teaching is that if a person have 
faith in Christ disease must at once dis- 
appear ; if it does not, he has not faith. 

Two evils I have seen two evils, to my know- 

that result. J 

ledge, result — either the sufferer makes 
an erroneous assertion, or he falls into 
depths of terrible depression. 

i. Many assert they are cured; though 
the disease still continues. I know a 
blind man who persists he can really 
see because he had faith months ago 
that he was cured. A lady testified 
at a meeting she had been cured of her 
deafness for two years, and added, but it 
still stays on. Another was anointed, 
and told her husband she was healed. 
Her husband said, You are no better ! 
No , she said, I feel worse ; but the Lord 
has healed me. Another said, I am 


THE SUBLIME IN SUFFERING 157 


healed by faith , not by my senses . A 
doctor not long since removed a cancer 
from a woman who actually at the 
time protested she had been healed 
days before. 

2. Those who cannot rise to these 
heights — and there are many — fall to 
corresponding depths. 

I remember a case of a Christian 
man dying of consumption whose last 
days were much darkened, and who 
suffered agonies of soul through being 
told, with much insistence, that his 
illness was entirely due to his want 
of faith in Christ. Such instances could 
be multiplied to any extent. 

Having said this, to preserve the 
balance of truth we must look at the 
other side of the question. There is 
no doubt whatever of the health-giving 
power of inward peace and calm, of the 
happiness of a knowledge of God, of 
harmony where there was discord. The 


The health- 
giving value 
of true 
religion. 


158 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Tribulation 

includes 

sickness. 


whole being is brought into a state of 
wholeness, holiness, or health ; disease 
is more easily resisted and recovered 
from than otherwise. 

Personally, I do not think that dis- 
ease comes so much from lack of faith 
as it is the result of our carelessness ; 
while, on the other hand, I do believe 
that it is one of the most valued 
forms of trial through which the 
Christian is passed, and in which he is 
refined and tempered. There are doubt- 
less many other forms of tribulation, but 
I doubt if there are any so blessed to 
the soul as this, and I therefore think 
not only that the “ tribulation ” includes 
sickness, but that it forms a large 
proportion of the whole. It is not 
sickness that shows lack of faith, but 
the way in which it is so often borne. 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 


I go on my way rejoicing, 

Though weary the wilderness road — 

I go on my way rejoicing 
In hope of the glory of God. 

Then no more in the earthen vessel 
The treasure of God shall be, 

But in full and unclouded beauty, 

O Lord, wilt Thou shine through me. 

All, all in Thy new creation 
The glory of God shall see ; 

And the lamp for that light eternal 
The Bride of the Lamb shall be : 

A golden lamp in the heavens, 

That all may see and adore 
The Lamb who was slain and who liveth, 
Who liveth for evermore. 

So I go on my way rejoicing 
That the heavens and earth shall see 
His grace, and His glory and beauty, 

In the depth of His love to me.” 

Hymns of Ter Steegen , Suso, and Others. 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 


I N this last chapter we will turn away 
from time, with its schools, its 
lessons, its failures, and its sins, to that 
blessed age when the apotheosis of 
humanity will be reached in a perfect 
likeness to Christ in heaven. 

Let us consider the ultimate calling of 
the Christian to which I have already 
alluded, the future life for which we 
are being trained in the school of suf- 
fering — that dazzling prospect in view 
of which St. Paul so earnestly says : 
/ therefore , the prisoner of the Lord \ 
beseech you that ye walk worthy of the 


The 

apotheosis 
of humanity. 


1 62 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


The most 
wonderful 
epistle in tl 
Bible. 


Different 

horizons. 


vocation wherewith ye are called (Eph. 
iv. i). 

Let me ask you to turn with me to 
that wonderful epistle — to the most 
amazing words ever written by a 
human pen — the Epistle to the Ephe- 
sians, and contemplate the glorious 
prospect, the endless vista that it 
reveals. 

Our outlook, physically, depends very 
much on where we stand. At the bottom 
of a pit it is bounded by the sides of the 
pit ; at the bottom of a valley it is 
bounded by the hills around ; on a plain 
it extends, as at sea, some ten miles or 
more all round the spectator ; on a hill 
this may be increased to twenty or thirty 
miles ; while on a high mountain peak 
it may extend to one hundred miles 
or more. 

In the same way men have various 
spiritual horizons according to their 
standpoints. 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 163 


There is the gross materialist who 
does not believe in anything beyond the 
tangible : he does not believe he has 
got a soul ; he believes his mind is a 
secretion of his brain and the product 
of a purely material process. He believes 
that when the breath goes out of the 
body everything comes to an absolute 
end. His horizon is bounded by his 
death : for then he ceases to be. 

Others that we meet know a little 
more than this. Their horizon is a 
little more extended, for their standpoint 
is higher. They believe in a spirit 
world. They do not know much of 
what is going to happen in the spirit 
world, but they believe their souls are 
going to depart from them, and that they 
may go perhaps into some one else’s 
body, a sort of re-incarnation. Their 
minds harbour mysterious fantasies such 
as the human brain is capable of con- 
ceiving, all shrouded in mist. They 


The 

materialist’s 

horizon. 


A more 

extended 

view. 


1 64 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


can see beyond death a something 
vague, black, mystical, ghostly, on the 
other side of the grave. 

There is another class, that includes 
perhaps many of us, whose outlook is 
derived from an imperfect knowledge 
of Scripture ; who believe there is to be 
a resurrection, and that we are going to 
heaven. No real Bible student thinks 
that we go direct to heaven when we 
die, for the Word of God gives no 
warrant for the thought. According 
to the Scriptures, when we die we go 
to Hades — a place of departed spirits. 
We do not go to heaven before we get 
our spiritual bodies, because heaven is 
a place for bodies as well as spirits, and 
it is very necessary to understand that. 

These, then, believe that there is 
a resurrection and that they go to 
heaven ; and then they have a bright 
vision, founded largely on favourite 
hymns, of sitting there through endless 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 165 


days singing and chanting, or being 
employed in other harmless pursuits. 
That is their horizon. 

Others have a wider horizon. They 
say, “ That is not all. When we have 
been in heaven a short time, then will 
come the reign of Christ for a thousand 
years over this earth.” 

And then comes another class, who 
say that the Scriptures tell us of some- 
thing beyond the thousand years, when 
the Son Himself will be subject to God. 

There is yet one more class still, who 
say, “ That is not all, for we know more 
than that. There is another kingdom 
after the thousand years of Christ, and 
after that we shall spend eternity in the 
new heaven on earth, when God will 
dwell with men, and where we are 
going to live and be happy for ever 
and ever.” 

Now that is the furthest limit, the 
utmost of which the human imagination 


Millennial 

horizon. 


The furthest 
limit outside 
Ephesians. 


1 66 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

is capable, guided and enlightened by 
the Scriptures, outside the teaching of 
the Ephesians. 

But the vista which this epistle opens 
up in the future is a truly awe-inspiring- 
one, one of those sights that appal and 
astound. 

Here, and here alone, we are, as 
it were, caught up into paradise and 
hear unspeakable words , which it is not 
lawful for a man to utter (2 Cor. xii. 4). 

Our outlook here is not from any 
earthly standpoint, but is Divine, and 
hence illimitable ; extending, as I 
believe, far beyond the furthest vista 
vouchsafed to St. John in Patmos. 

There are in the heavens black depths 
where there are no stars, where the 
beholder seems to be looking into an 
infinite distance beyond the universe 
itself, where one looks through and 
through into eternity, where no material 
object meets the eye. 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 167 


The onlook in Ephesians reminds us 
of these, and is absolutely appalling in 
its immensity. But it is extraordinarily 
definite with regard to our place in the 
immensity, and has a wonderful interest 
for us. 

I feel certain that few people have 
even a very small idea of the glorious 
destiny reserved for those of us of the 
human race who are in Christ Jesus. 

And of this the Scripture now before 
us speaks with absolute clearness ; in 
language that none can mistake. 

Nearly one hundred years ago that 
great divine, Adam Clarke, said of this 
epistle : Paul's nervous language seems J e h n e /’° n r ^ e s r 
here to bend and tremble under the of meaning. 
weight of the divine ideas which he 
endeavours to express. The very words 
seem almost to give way under the 
weight that is put upon them, by the 
thoughts that are in them ; so mag- 
nificent, so far-reaching is the vista 


1 68 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


that is spread out here before our 
eyes. 

We have spoken already of God as 
Love, and God as Light or Wisdom ; 
wisdonTare Grace and Wisdom representing Love 
f° vc - and Light. Wisdom is God’s light applied 
to our folly; Grace is God’s love applied 
to our need. There is no grace in heaven 
because there is no need of grace, though 
there is need of grace on earth. Wisdom 
in heaven is pure light ; on earth it 
represents light in contrast to darkness. 
And so we have here to-day the grace 
and wisdom of God presented to us in 
relation to our future. 

We find that both Grace and Wisdom 
are what I may call chromatic — of many 
colours. Light is achromatic — without 
colour. The Love that is of Heaven is 
achromatic ; the Light that is of Heaven 
is achromatic ; but when either shines 
through the dense atmosphere of our 
world of sin and folly it becomes 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 169 


chromatic, or many-sided, many-coloured. 
That very word is used in Ephesians 
with regard to the wisdom of God — 
where it is called the manifold (or 
chromatic) wisdom of God. That is to 
say, the pure white Light of Heaven 
is broken up into many colours from 
its association with human needs. 

We will take, then, the Grace of 
God first, in regard to our position in 
eternity. The Grace of God is divided 
in Ephesians into two classes. One of 
these has reference to our need and 
is personal, and is called the riches of 
Gods grace. The other has reference 
to our inheritance, and to what God 
brings us into, and is called the glory 
of God’s grace. 

The measure of the riches is man 
and his need ; the measure of the glory 
is God and His Divine dignity and 
position, and must be something worthy 
of Him. 


Manifold or 

chromatic 

wisdom. 


i;o THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

God’s^grace! N 0 W Y 0U ^ God’s 

grace, of which I am speaking, unfolded 
first in the Epistle to the Ephesians, 
i. io, 18, 19, 21 ; of which I will just 
quote a little. St. Paul says in ver. 6 
that we are predestined to the praise of 
the glory of his grace . We are going 
to be absolutely devoted to the praise 
of the glory of God’s grace. We are 
not that now. 

In ver. io it says: God has purposed 
to sum up all things in Christ — both 
which are in heaven and which are on 
earth . Ver. 12: To the end that we 
should be to the praise of his glory , who 
first trusted in Christ. Ver. 18-22 : 
That ye may know what is the hope 
of his calling, and what the riches 
of the glory of his inheritance in 
the saints , and what is the exceeding 
greatness of his power to us-ward who 
believe , according to the working of his 
mighty power (now look closely at the 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 171 


words at the end of the verse) which he 
wrought in Christ , when he raised him 
from the dead and set him at his own right 
hand in the heavenly places , far above 
all principality , and power , and might , 
and dominion , and every name that is 
named \ not only in this world \ but also 
in that which is to come: and hath 
put all things under his feet , and asso- 
ciated us with Him in that supreme 
position not only in this age but in that 
which is to come. Here, then, we get 
the first sight of the vista of which 
I spoke. 

Let us look again for one moment at 
that 10th verse. To gather together in “Chmtus 
one (to sum up) all things in Christ ; mator/ 
Christ the head of the race — Christus 
Consummator , as Westcott so beauti- 
fully put it. Look at the destiny of 
the Christian man ! Observe, it was pur- 
posed in God before He commenced the 
creation of this world, that man, made 


172 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


as to spirit, in Gods likeness originally, 
should, however sin and Satan may 
have marred him, yet bear in body as 
well as spirit the likeness of the Divine, 
and should be associated with Christ 
through age after age, Christ being the 
Head of the whole creation and all 
being summed up in His Person. And 
it tells us further in i John iii. 2 that 
we shall be like Christ ( for we shall see 
him as he is). 

After the entrance of the first germ of 
life into this world, it was raised by the 
power of God, through successive stages 
of evolution 1 to the man into whom 
God breathed the spirit of life, as He 
did into no lower animal : the successive 
steps are described in Genesis i. But 
here evolution stops and God rests. 
We reach man, and that seems to be 

1 See Psa. cxxxix. 15, 16, where the evolution 
of man in the earth is spoken of ; in vers. 12, 13 it 
is the individual and his mother. 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 173 

the last word spoken by God on the 
development of life on this globe. 

Yet now we see it is not the end. 

If in Genesis Adam is the first man 
before God, in St. Matthew Christ is 
to God the second. But it is only after 
an interval of some four thousand years 
J esus is born ; and in the manger at 
Bethlehem a Saviour, the God-Man, is 
brought into our midst. He is made 
truly man, and brought to the level of 
our plane of life, yet without sin. He 
lives for thirty-three years in Palestine : 
then dies. 

Now mark, when He is raised again 
from the dead upon the third day, He 
is no longer what He was, as far as 
regards the position of His manhood 
and condition of His body. He has 
now a spiritual body — a body that 
ascends to heaven, a body that can 
pass through the walls of a closed room 
without a miracle, a body that is stated 


Functions of 
a spiritual 
body. 


Christ not 
recognised. 


The Head of 
all creation. 


174 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

to have flesh and bones, but which has 
mysterious attributes which render Him 
strange to His disciples. 

On every occasion when they saw 
Him after His resurrection they did 
not recognise Him at first. He who 
had been a man like unto themselves 
before His resurrection 1 comes imme- 
diately unto them, the same Jesus, and 
yet raised to a higher level as regards 
the body ; and on a completely different 
spiritual plane. 

In this spiritual body He ascends to 
heaven; and there He has been ever 
since, at the right hand of God — the 
crown and glory of evolution and of all 
life ; the Head of all Creation. Life 
which began at the very bottom of the 
scale on this globe thus finds its 

1 I have ventured in a previous work, “ Another 
World ; or, The Fourth Dimension ” (Swan, Son- 
nenschein & Co.), to call this condition by analogy 
“ the fourth dimension.” 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 175 


apotheosis and last word in the final 
consummation of the resurrection ; in 
the perfect spiritual form of the glorified 
Man in heaven. 

To that type we are all going to be 
conformed, and we may look upon our- 
selves as being on the way, destined to 
ascend to that last stage. For though 
we now are men and women of ordinary 
flesh and blood, we are not going to 
remain so. When we see Christ we are 
going to be like Him ; we are going to 
be clothed upon, with the house from 
heaven, not with a natural body but 
with a spiritual body, in order that we 
may be fitted to discharge the high 
mission and calling reserved for us in 
the future . 1 Of this calling I will now 
speak. 

1 In this connection I would point out the 
sentence There shall be no night there (Rev. xxi. 
25), the significance of which is very great, in- 
volving as it does the absence of sleep. We often 


Conforme d 
to Christ. 


176 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


The riches of 
God’s grace. 


We have seen that in the ages to 
come God is going to show the glory 
of His grace in His inheritance in the 
saints, and that He has something 
reserved for Christians, of which He 
but dimly speaks here, which He calls 
the glory of His inheritance. We 
shall understand this better as we 
pass on. 

Now in Eph. ii. 7 we are given 
the other side of the picture, that of 
the riches of Gods grace. Look at the 
close of ver. 7 : That in the ages to come 
he might shew the exceeding riches of 

forget that now half our lives are spent with the 
sister of death. We are practically only half alive 
in this world, and for many hours each night the 
whole race lies, as it were, in the semblance of 
death. The very idea of being without this con- 
stant need of sleep is repugnant to us, and a 
state of perpetual life quite foreign to our thoughts. 
But this sentence points to such a time when the 
redeemed race will for the first time enter into full 
life , with all their activities ever at the service 
of God. 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 177 

his grace in his kindness towards us 
through Christ Jesus. 

It is very easy, you know, when you 
come to short words of one syllable, to 
pass them over without any of the 
meaning of the language ever getting 
into our heads. One might as well 
read the words in Chinese if we do not 
get any sense out of them. 

Let us consider, then, this verse — that ™ e k | ha11 
in the ages to come he might shew the GodTiovc. 
exceeding riches of his grace in his kind - 
ness towards us through Christ Jesus. 

If the love of God is going to be 
known to all the intelligences in the 
different worlds of His vast creation in 
the ages to come, the exponents of it, 
whether as regards the riches of God’s 
grace or as regards the glory of God’s 
grace, will be ourselves. 

Men and women living their every- 
day lives here have not the slightest 
conception of the glorious destiny that 

13 


Truths like 
fairy tales. 


178 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 

is absolutely reserved for them by God. 
These truths are to their minds as fairy 
tales, and not even interesting fairy 
tales, because they do not refer to this 
world. If they concerned their ad- 
vancement within the next ten years to 
some position in London or in the 
country higher than they enjoy to-day, 
we should have very eager listeners ; 
but as they are simply truths from God 
and concern the future, we pass them 
by, we fail to take them in. But the 
Bible is called the Word of God (and if 
it is true in one part it is true in 
another), and if there are men and 
women who hold this Word of God in 
reverence, and believe these words of 
St. Paul in the Ephesians to be genuine 
sacred truths of God, let me ask them 
what these words mean : that in the 
ages to come he might shew the exceed 
ing riches of his grace in his kindness 
towards ns through Christ Jesus ? And 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 179 

also that He is going to display in the 
ages to come the glory of His inheri- 
tance in the saints? 

We men and women of this earth 

God. 

were chosen by God before the founda- 
tion of the world ; we were made and 
selected for one purpose ; and if we are 
put to school to suffer trouble and gain 
experience it is simply in view of the 
wonderful destiny which lies before us 
of being the exponents to principalities 
and powers and dominions, of which 
we have no conception at present, of 
the Love of God. To all those vast 
heavenly kingdoms spoken of in Ephe- 
sians we shall be illustrators, exemplars, 
and apostles and priests and prophets, 
of the Love of God, in its glory and 
in its riches. 

We are destined in the ages to come 
to great honour, as those whom God 
has chosen to set forth His Love, 
having known it ourselves so well on 


i8o THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


We are to 
reveal God's 
wisdom. 


earth. Surely it is because our Divine 
destiny is so little known that the sub- 
lime in suffering is so seldom seen. 

I trust, therefore, that this brief con- 
sideration of the Christian’s glorious 
future may render more intelligible that 
mysterious rejoicing in Rom. v. 3, and 
what I said concerning it in the last 
chapter. 

But this is not all. In Ephesians we 
reach another point. We now leave 
the Love and turn to the Wisdom. 
Consider Eph. iii. 10, for one moment : 
To the intent that now unto the princi- 
palities and powers in heavenly places 
might be known by the church the 
manifold (the many-sided or the chro- 
matic, the various) wisdom of God \ 
according to the eternal purpose which 
he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, 
Well, you say, “That is only in the 
present.” Not so ; it is in the future. 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 181 


Look at the last two verses of this 
very chapter : Now unto him that is 
able to do exceeding abundantly above all 
that we ask or think , according to the 
power that worketh in us , unto him be 
glory in the church (which, you under- 
stand, is the body of Christian people) 
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages , 
world without end. Amen. Or as it 
may be translated, unto all the genera- 
tions of the age of the ages. To many 
this is but a pious ascription without 
particular meaning, so absolutely do we 
fritter away the force of one of the most 
deliberate utterances and most sublime 
passages of Scripture. But it is true — 
literally true. 

Whatever glory God will receive 
throughout Eternity from all the intelli- 
gences which He has created will be 
always through us. I wish we could 
bear in mind that we are destined, 
according to His purpose in Christ 


To all 
Eternity. 


182 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Jesus before the world was, to be to the 
glory of God and to reveal His wisdom 
and His love to created intelligences 
throughout the whole Universe, 
without end Look at the words again. Unto 
Him be glory in the church by Christ 
Jesus throughout all ages , world without 
end. To the utmost bounds of time — 
that is, to all Eternity. Consider 
that — 


A few more years shall roll, 
A few more seasons come, 


a few more tears, a few more sighs, a 
few more smiles — a little brief day still 
to be spent in London, in the country, 
in England or elsewhere, but all of 
inestimable value in the training and 
tempering of character, of soul, of spirit, 
and then all will be over and as “ the 
seen ” fades away, the glories of “ the 
unseen ” and eternal unroll themselves 
before our eyes, and we shall reach a 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 183 


destiny so glorious that the mind 
staggers when it tries to contemplate it. 

We read in Ephesians of princi- 
palities, of powers, of kingdoms, of 
intelligences, of which we have no 
knowledge. But they are very clear and 
quite familiar to God, because He knows 
them as well as He knows us. We see 
in the Ephesians vistas of time that 
have no end unto the utmost bounds of 
the ages and ages , on and on unto all 
eternity. 

We are told in the plainest language 
in the Holy Scriptures, with the autho- 
rity which they everywhere possess 
to those who reverence them, that to 
the ages of ages, to eternity, we are to 
be the exponents of the glory of God. 
Nothing short of this, nothing less than 
this, constitutes our high calling. 

We are to reveal His love, from weare 

living 

planet to planet, from star to star. SeglS.of 
What a mission! We are reserved to 


i8 4 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


illustrate the riches of God's grace in 
His kindness to us, and the glory of 
Gods grace in the inheritance into which 
He will bring us. 

And not only so, but through us is to 
be made known the manifold wisdom of 
God. One would have thought that 
whatever training we might receive we 
should always remain too foolish to set 
forth Gods wisdom. Not so. We 
shall be transformed or transfigured into 
the likeness of our Lord not only as 
regards the body (being made spiritual, 
raised to higher powers), but in mind 
and soul as well ; so that we shall be 
vessels fitted for the Master’s use ; able 
to set forth the manifold wisdom of God 
to those principalities and powers and 
kingdoms in high places. We get the 
same thought in a beautiful figure in 
Revelation of the New Jerusalem. 
Let us try and realise it for a moment. 

The 

cube* parent It i s the picture of a translucent cube 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 185 

1,500 miles in every direction. It lights 
up the world, for it has the glory of God, 
and her light is like unto a stone most 
precious , even like a jasper stone , clear 
as crystal (i.e. } like a diamond) (Rev. 
xxi. 11). The source of the light is 
stated in ver. 23 : And the city had no 
need of the sun , neither of the moon , to 
shine in it: for the glory of God did 
lighten it , and the Lamb is the light 
thereof \ 

The picture is significant — The Lord of h t e h e gure 
God Almighty and the Lamb are the chur ° h ‘ 
temple of it — in the midst of it ; and 
the result is that every ray of the glory 
of Gods love and wisdom that reaches 
the universe can only do so by being 
transmitted through this transparent 
cube, a figure of the entire body of the 
redeemed people of God. Of course 
the cube could not transmit the rays of 
Divine light and love were it not itself 
as clear as crystal. I am persuaded 


1 86 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


that one main object of tribulations 
is to promote this transparency in us. 

There is no doubt that if we grasped 
to the very smallest extent what the 
Christian really is, what is his origin, 
what is his life, what is his destiny, we 
should consider it the greatest privilege 
that our mind could conceive, that we 
should be called the children of God. 
caiiingf h One ^ ee ^ s deeply that we think too 
little of our calling. If we got a grasp 
of it more firmly, do not imagine for a 
moment that it would lead to conceit or 
pride ; our destiny is far too high, far 
too grand, to leave room for ignoble 
thoughts. 

You have only to turn again to 
Eph. iv. 2 to get a real grasp of the 
attitude of mind to which this glorious 
to walk ^ destiny leads. I therefore, the prisoner 
vocafion. of the Lord ’ beseech you that ye walk 
worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are 
called. [Oh ! what lovely words !] I 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 187 


therefore — he is turning from this 
vista of the ages of ages, this glorious 
spectacle of Christian men and women 
expounding God’s love and wisdom to 
the intelligences of those distant worlds 
to all eternity ; turning from it now to 
practical matters — I therefore , the pri- 
soner of the Lord ’ beseech you that ye 
walk worthy of the vocation (that 
glorious calling) wherewith ye are called , 
with all lowliness and meekness , with 
long-suffering , forbearing one another in 
love ; endeavouring to keep the unity of 
the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

Could anything be more practical, 
more beautiful, more lovely? So one 
need not fear that such lofty and 
magnificent thoughts of God ad- 
dressed to us will ever lead to evil. 
On the contrary, they can do us 
nothing but good to contemplate. 

I think I may here, perhaps, turn 


1 88 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


for a moment to the position in which 
to we find ourselves to-day. There are 
indications on every side of higher 
powers gradually coming to light, 
forces alluded to in Scripture as the 
powers of the world to come . 

I believe even now we contain in 
our minds in embryo, potentialities and 
powers that have never yet been un- 
folded, and may never be fully unfolded 
on earth ; these are they which are 
called in mysterious phrase the powers 
of the world to come. 

In the miracles that our Lord 
wrought He put forth powers that 
were never used by others, excepting 
rarely by some of His disciples. These 
powers may exist in all, and are 
destined to be employed some day in 
a future state. Everything that is 
given to us will be used to the glory 
of God. 

Some of us are groping in the dark, 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 189 


and yet so feeling the mysteries of 
the power of mind over mind, and 
thought over thought, and the influ- 
ence of one over another, that we 
almost fear and dread to understand 
perfectly. It is well that we should 
feel thus, because I believe that all 
those influences are comprehended in 
that mystical expression the powers of 
the world to come , and are not for use 
in this world at all. 1 

But when the necessity occurs for 
their use we shall find that they will 
all expand and flower — when we are 
transplanted into the Garden of God. 
We do not blossom out with all 
our powers now ; school children do 
not use fully developed powers at 

1 The evidence with regard to spiritualism is 
most definite. I have it on very high authority 
that the practice of it never raises or improves, 
but nearly always leads to deterioration of mind 
or character. 


These 
powers not 
for use now. 


We flower 
in the 
garden. 


190 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Wait, till 
then 1 


school. They have to occupy their 
days with study, and learn their lessons 
well. And that is what we have to 
do. We have not to spread our 
wings and show all the powers we 
have got ; but with humble and lowly 
minds we have to walk with God — 
to rejoice at what He sends us, and 
to glory in anything that teaches us 
another lesson in our course, so that 
we may be fitted for our high and 
holy destiny. 

And if here and there we perceive 
in ourselves something beyond our 
understanding, some power which we 
cannot fully grasp, let us rest content ; 
all will be unfolded and put to full 
use by God in His own time and 
way, when we are called hereafter to 
serve Him as we have never served 
Him here. 

Nor only here 

The rich result of all our God doth teach : 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 191 


His scholars slow at best, until we reach 
A nobler sphere. 

Then, not till then, our training is complete 
And the true life begins, for which He made us meet. 
Are children trained 

Only that they may reach some higher class, 

Only for some few schoolroom years that pass 
Till growth is gained? 

Is it not rather for the life beyond 
To which the Father looks with hopes so fair and 
fond ? 

Bold thought, flash on 

Into the far depths of eternity 

When time shall be a faint star memory 

So long, long gone ! 


To sum up, then. Christianity is to summary, 
know God not by oida> or intellectual 
knowledge only, but far more by 
ginosko } or personal knowledge. This, 
and this alone, putting us in real touch 
with the Infinite, fills our souls with 
light and love, banishes for ever from 
our lips those words and phrases that 
are such an opprobrium to Christianity ; 
and in the harmony of daily walking 
with God frees us from self-seeking; 


192 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


Result of the for 
knowledge 
of God. . . 

nothing , 


and with the confidence of well-cared- 
children makes us careful for 
though in everything giving 
thanks. So we rejoice in the Lord 
alway, literally and truly, and are garri- 
soned all round our hearts with the 
peace of God, and thus blessed, can care 
for all and serve all as our Father wills. 


The love of 
God will 
never cease. 


I close with two thoughts contained 
in two passages of Scripture — one 
respecting ourselves, and the other 
respecting God. 

I am persuaded , that neither death , 
nor life , nor angels , nor principalities , 
nor powers , nor things present , nor 
things to come , nor height , nor depth , 
nor any other creature , shall be able to 
separate us from the love of God , which 
is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. viii. 
38, 39). Ponder well this passage, 
and say over and over again to your- 
self, “Never, never, to all eternity, 


TO THE AGES OF AGES 193 


shall I be separated from the Love 
of God.” 

The other sentence I will quote is : 
that God may be all in all (1 Cor. xv. 
28). Before there was any creation 
God was all \ because there was nothing 
else. The moment there was a creation 
God was not all \ because there was 
God and His creation . But God never 
rested and never will rest until He is 
in all — that is, until He everywhere 
pervades His own creation. Our 
mission throughout eternity is so to 
make known the love and wisdom of 
God that He may be not only all , but 
in all. He is in us now ; but we want 
Him to be in all ; and I believe God 
will yet, through us, cause His own 
wondrous creation to be so filled with 
the glorious knowledge of His love 
and wisdom that the mysterious saying 
will be true, which has never yet been 
fulfilled, and God be all and in all. 

14 


The 

knowledge 
of God shall 
yet fill all. 


194 THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


I leave my readers to think over 
this sentence that so transcends our 
understanding, and yet in which we 
can surely foresee the time, when the 
full knowledge of God shall be com- 
pletely enjoyed by every created in- 
telligence. 


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